In a Woman's Eyes
by A Catholic Girl
Summary: Ben Gates became the legal guardian of his niece Andrea when her parents died in a car accident. Andrea grows up to be academic yet stubborn, and willingly tags along on Ben's treasure-hunting quest. COMPLETED 6/14/08.
1. Prologue: Welcome to My World

**Summary: Ben was named the legal guardian of his niece, Andrea, right after her parents died in a car accident. Now, Andrea will tag on her uncle's treasure-hunting adventures – better than it sounds.**

**For Andrea's Image, visit my profile!**

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Prologue: Welcome to My World

Twenty-five-year old Benjamin Franklin Gates had had a bad day. He had gotten fired from his part-time job at Starbucks and his car had broken down in the middle of the highway on his way home to his four-room apartment. Thinking that things couldn't get any worse and looking forward to an evening of Chinese takeout and channel surfing, the future historian let himself into his home.

Inside, the answering machine on his kitchen counter blinked red – a new message was waiting for him. On his way to his bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes, Ben pressed the PLAY button on the machine.

"Um, yeah, Mr. Gates?" a frantic-sounding voice filled the apartment. "Listen, sir, this is Frank Cobb, I'm a D.C policeman. We'd like for you to come down to your sister's house ASAP, you see, there's been a little accident…"

Ben poked his head back into the kitchen. An accident? At his sister's? Thirty-two-year-old Abigail Adams Gates, now Abigail A. Morrison, had gotten married three years ago and had recently given birth to a baby girl, Andrea, who was now six months old. Abigail, Andrea, and Bill – Ben's brother-in-law – lived in the suburban area of Philadelphia, near Patrick Henry Gates, Abigail and Ben's father.

Sighing tiredly, Ben slipped back into his sneakers and began looking around for his car keys, until he realized that his car was still at the garage, being fixed – drat, he'd have to take a cab to Abigail's…

When Ben's taxi pulled up to the Morrisons' house, Patrick Gates appeared at the front door, little Andrea in his arms. He waved at Ben and ran down the front pathway to greet him as Ben stepped out of the cab to pay the driver.

"What happened, Dad?" Ben questioned as soon as the taxi driver drove off with his money. "Where are Abigail and Bill?"

"That's the thing, son…" Patrick glanced down at his granddaughter, smiling at her precious face. He then looked away again, his face red. "Ben, Abby and Bill…they aren't here…they're…they're dead." Tears ran down the old man's face.

Ben felt his heart drop. "D-dead?"

Patrick nodded curtly. "They drove out to Virginia this morning, for some lecture by a professor. They left Andrea with a sitter. And…on the way home…" He choked on his words. "They were in an accident, okay? Bill died first, Abigail suffered an concussion, and then died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."

"Oh…" Ben glanced at Andrea, and then at his father. He was never really close to his sister, as she had spent most of her childhood at boarding school in New York. But yet, something about Abigail's death triggered a feeling inside him. "Dad…what about the baby?" He motioned towards Andrea. "Where will she go?"

"That's the main crisis, Ben," Patrick sighed and handed Andrea to her uncle so he could pace back and forth on Bill's well-kept lawn. "You and I both know I'm too old to take Andrea in"

"What about Mom? She could"

"No, no, your mother does love Andrea, but she's too busy with her job at the university to raise a young girl…" Patrick rubbed his temple thoughtfully. "And no granddaughter of mine is going to an orphanage…" He turned to face his son. "Benjamin, you're our only hope."

Ben's eyebrows rose. "Me…?"

"Ben, you love Andrea! If you raise her, she'll grow with our nation's history and you can't go wrong with another historian in the world!" Patrick looked at his son pleadingly. "Ben…please…"

Ben looked at the little baby in his arms and suddenly, he knew that he had to take his niece in. He peered back at his dad and replied, "Dad…where's her stuff?"

Patrick smiled. "I knew you'd do it…"

As Patrick went back into the house to phone the police about Andrea's new home, Ben shifted the baby to his other arm. "So…you like Chinese food?"

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**So, there's the prologue! I already have the first three and a half chapters written out, and I know a lot of people write about this idea about Ben having a niece and Riley having a romance with an OC, but thanks for reading! Go press that little purple button!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Discovery of Charlotte

Chapter One: The Discovery of Charlotte

Seventeen-year-old Andrea Morrison adjusted her ski cap and shivered in the coldness of the Artic Circle. Here she was, a fresh graduate of high school, spending her summer tagging along on another one of Uncle Ben's crazy treasure hunts. All of her friends – well, let's say former classmates – were in places like the Caribbean this summer, getting tanned, losing much-hated weight, etc., and here she was, in the Artic Circle, being chaperoned by her history-geek of an uncle and his longtime summer intern, Riley Poole. She could have gone to NYU's – the college she was attending in the fall – prep program, or she could have flown to Europe to backpack across France.

But no, she had to let Uncle Ben persuade her into coming along on another of his wild goose chases. Why did she have to be cursed with such convincible genes?

An electronic beep sounded next to her – no surprise. Riley was tinkering away with his laptop again. He and Andrea had always tried their best to ignore each other over the years on these treasure hunts, but yet still played along at the game of "Who-does-Ben-like-more." Riley had been hired as Ben's intern two years ago, when he was eighteen and Andrea was fifteen. Since then, the now twenty and seventeen year olds still argued constantly about everything.

"Riley, must you still play around with that thing?" Andrea groaned. "We're two hundred miles from the middle of nowhere and you insist on lugging that laptop with you wherever we go!"

Riley rolled his eyes as he punched in some numbers on his keyboard. "You have a similar obsession, Andy." Andy – he knew Andrea hated being called that, which was the reason Riley was the only one who called her that. "We could be sky-diving and you'd be carrying that stupid history book with you."

Andrea looked down defensively at the old Gates family history journal in her lap. Technically, she wasn't a Gates, but by blood, she was. After receiving the journal on her thirteenth birthday by Uncle Ben, she knew it was her job to preserve the book and her ancestors' lives.

Instead of shooting another nasty comment at Riley, she pulled out a pen from her pocket. It was normally difficult to write with gloves on, but Uncle Ben had dragged her to so many cold and remote places that she had mastered the skill a long time ago.

She dated her entry – July 19th, 2004 – and began to write:

Uncle Ben and I are in the Artic Circle again, trying to track down the ship called Charlotte. This is our fourth time this year looking for it, but Uncle Ben is so sure he'll find it, that this trip seems different than the rest.

As you know, I graduated from high school last month as valedictorian of my class. I had to give a speech in front of everyone and was dead nervous about it. But after a long, persuading phone call with Grandpa, I found a way to include how strong family history was in my speech and still meet the requirements. My speech was a hit at the graduation ceremony. Uncle Ben and Grandpa were there, and both told me afterwards that my mom would have been so proud of me. Even Riley Poole was there, but only because Uncle Ben threatened to fire him if he didn't attend. But Riley was actually nice to me after I gave my speech and received my diploma. He had playfully punched my arm and said halfheartedly, "Way to go, Andy."

"There she goes again," complained Riley from his hunched over state at his computer. "Writing in her family's history book, convinced that she'll be the next Anne Frank…"

"Riley!" Andrea made to punch his arm and then shut down his laptop, but Ben quickly stopped the two from killing each other.

"Hey!" Ben called from the front seat. "Listen, you two, if you keep this up, I'll dump you right here and leave, and you won't have the laptop or the history journal to accompany you!"

"Sorry, Ben," Riley grunted and returned to typing on his laptop.

Andrea shot an apologetic glance at her uncle and then stared back at Riley. She had to admit, he was hotter than the majority of the guys at her high school. Plus, she had a right to call him hot, had she not seen him shirtless at the community pool last spring?

_There's no chance of him stripping in this weather, _Andrea thought disappointedly as she turned her attention back to the journal.

Riley's computer beeped again, causing Ben to turn back at he and his niece. "Are we almost there, Riley?"

"Assuming your theory is correct and my tracking model's accurate, we should be getting very close," Riley excitedly glanced at the screen, but then looked back up at his boss. "But don't go by me. I broke a shoelace this morning."

Ben peered at his intern strangely. Andrea rolled her eyes and then said to her uncle, "In Riley's world, that's a bad omen."

"Oh," Ben slowly turned back to the steering wheel and then squinted to see what was ahead of them. Sure enough, there was a figure in the distance. Smiling, Ben pressed a button on the dashboard. "Ian, we're here. Keep following us, we'll lead you guys right to it."

In the other Jeep, Ian Howe, Ben's assistant for this journey, nodded and slowed down his driving, in order to pull behind the Jeep consisting of Ben, Andrea, and Riley, so he could easily follow them to their destination.

"All right," Riley pressed one more button on his keyboard and beamed at the results. "Okay, guys, we are now officially here!" He shut down the computer, shoved it into his bag, and then hopped out of the Jeep. "After you, Miss Morrison."

"Why, thank you, Miss Poole," Andrea rudely replied as she jumped out of the vehicle.

Riley stood shocked for a moment. "Oh, that's low."

Andrea nodded. "Why do you think I said it?"

A man from the other Jeep approached the two. "This is crazy," he peered around the frozen tundra. "How could a ship wind up here?"

Riley thoughtfully scratched his goatee. "Well, I'm no expert, but it could be that the hydrothermal properties of this region produced hurricane force ice storms that caused the ocean to freeze, then melt, then refreeze, resulting in a semi-solid migrating land mass that would land a ship right about here." Riley nodded, and then walked away, leaving the man dumbfounded.

Andrea fought back a laugh and then patted the man's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry, Riley's not usually that bright." And then she turned to follow her uncle.

Ben was behind the figure, staring with a shocked expression. "I…I think I found something!"

It took a full hour to completely uncover the Charlotte. Once all of the snow was brushed off, everyone slowly filed in. As they worked their way down, Uncle Ben pulled Andrea aside. "Look, hon," he placed a hand on his niece's shoulder. "I know you mean well when you tease Riley, but could you lay off the arguing for awhile? Finding what's in this ship could lead us to one of the greatest adventures of our lives, and I don't want my niece and my intern to ruin it. Okay?"

Andrea sighed. Why did her uncle have to be so solemn? "Okay, Uncle Ben. If you want us to completely ignore each other all summer…fine with me." She turned away and rejoined the march further into the ship.

Ben shook his head. Andrea was like a daughter to him and he had sacrificed so much for her, but raising a teenaged girl had been one of the hardest challenges in his life.

The group walked a little further inside, until finally, they reached a door. "This is it," Ben brushed past his crew to get into the lead of the march. "The cargo hold." He yanked open the door and slowly walked into the room, Ian, Andrea, Riley, and the rest of the group following him, taking in all of their surroundings…

The room was filled with nothing but barrels, hundreds of them. Andrea's shoulders slumped. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

Ian traced the outline of a barrel with his glove. "Maybe the clue's in one of the barrels?"

"Probably," Ben glanced around the room carefully. "Start opening them, everyone, and see what you found."

The group set out to different corners of the room, slowly opening barrels and peering into them. Suddenly, Ben called out, "Hey, I found something!" He came out from behind one of the barrels, cradling a wrapped box in his hands. Everyone gathered around him as he unwrapped and opened the box. He picked the item up gently for all to see.

"It's a pipe!" Andrea gasped.

"That's the treasure we're looking for?" Riley assumed tiredly. "The pipe isn't worth a billion dollars, is it?"

Ben rolled the pipe in his gloved hands. "Look at the scroll work on the side of it."

"What does that have to do with our hunt?" Ian growled. "Does that thing have an invisible map or what?"

Andrea's mouth dropped open. Hadn't Ian been listening to Ben's constant lectures of his family's past with treasure hunts and puzzles? "Mr. Howe," she began, "in case you haven't been cluing in for the past forty-eight hours, the Gates family has passed down a legend of a treasure of the Knight's Templar for centuries"

"Andrea…" Ben warned. He could see a temper tantrum coming from miles away.

"There's a series of clues that we need to find this so-called treasure," Andrea's face grew red with fury. "And obviously, this pipe is one of them."

Ian smirked at her. "Thanks for wasting time, love."

Andrea noticed the sarcasm, but pretended not to. She smiled sourly. "My pleasure."

"Whoa…" Riley whistled under his breath. "Awkward…"

"Guys," Ben shot a look at his crew and then studied the pipe again. Carefully, he removed the steam of it.

"Wait, why are you breaking it?" Riley looked confused beyond all reason.

Ignoring him, Ben muttered under his breath, "The secret lies within Charlotte…" He drew a pocketknife out of his coat and pressed the blade against his thumb.

Andrea grimaced at the sight of blood and hid her face away in the nearest person's coat…and that person had to be Riley.

He quickly jerked away. "And you did that because…?"

Andrea scoffed. "You know I hate blood…"

Ben rolled the bloody stem on a piece of paper from a notebook of his. He glanced observantly at the symbols that appeared. "Templar symbols…" Quickly, he decoded them. "The legend writ, the stain affected, the key in silence, undetected, 55 in iron pen, Mr. Matlack can't offend."

"What's that all about?" Ian raised an eyebrow impatiently.

"It's obviously a riddle," Andrea snapped at him. "The legend they're talking about is the legend of the Templar treasure"

"The stain affects the legend…" Ben murmured.

Ian squinted. "Couldn't that mean…invisible? An invisible map?"

"Possibly," Ben agreed. "The stain affected could mean a dye that…makes the key to the map"

"Undetected." Andrea finished smartly.

Ben nodded excitedly. "Exactly! But the key in silence could be…"

"Prison," Riley's eyes widened in fear.

"Yeah, right," Andrea rolled her eyes. "The iron pen can refer to the writing source at the time the Charlotte sailed. So, it's describing…"

"…What was penned!" Ben realized. "And Matlock…Timothy Matlock…he was the official scribe of the Continental Congress…"

"Continental Congress?" Riley questioned. "That group that created the Declaration of Independence?"

"Mmm-hmm," Andrea nodded. "And to make sure he could not disturb the map, Mr. Matlock put the map on the back of a resolution he scribed, which was signed by 55 men!" Her blue eyes widened. "It all concludes to one thing!"

"An invisible map on the back of the Declaration," Ian said shockingly. "A map to the Templar treasure."

"So…how are we going to make sure this far-fetched theory is right?" Riley snorted. "Just walk into the place where they keep the Declaration"

"The Archives." Both Ben and Andrea corrected him at the same time.

"And ask to chemically test the three hundred year old paper to see if there really is a map?" Riley finished, pretending that Ben and Andrea hadn't interrupted him. "That's crazy!"

"We'll arrange to examine it," Ben gently pocketed the pipe.

"Or even better…" a cold grin flickered across Ian's face. "We could, say, borrow it."

"Steal it?" Riley's voice squeaked. "That's what you mean, don't you?"

"Clever man," Ian nodded sneeringly.

"Ian, we don't have to steal it…" Ben began.

"Gates, the Templar treasure is the treasure of all treasures," Ian growled. "I'm not letting anything get in my way of getting that treasure. Trust me, with my expertise, we won't get caught at all…"

"No!" Ben screeched. "I'm not betraying my family's name just for the treasure!"

Ian froze. "You didn't want to do that, Gates," He motioned to one of the other crewmembers, who surprisingly pulled out a gun and aimed it at Ben.

Shocked, Ben's mouth dropped open, while Riley stepped back at the sight of the gun. Andrea, in fear, ran to her uncle's side for protection.

"Andrea, get back," Ben murmured to her. He turned back to Ian. "Ian, there are more clues than this one. You don't know where to find them or how to decode them, I'm the only one here who easily can!"

"Tell me what I need to know, Gates," Ian drew his own gun and aimed it at Andrea, who gasped. "Or I'll shoot your precious niece."

"Leave Andrea out of this, Ian!" Ben blared. "It's me you want, not her."

"I'll swear I'll do it, Ben," Ian didn't even look away from his gun. "Just tell me where I find the other clues."

Ben quickly grabbed a flare and lit it, turning everyone's attention to him. "Ian, look where you're standing."

Everyone's eyes trailed down to the substance on the floor – gunpowder.

"All of that," Ben continued, "you shoot me, I drop this, we all die."

"Nice to know, Ben," Riley muttered from his post near the door.

When the suspense was between Ben and Ian, Andrea took that time to dash away and stand by Riley. To her surprise, he slung a protective arm around her and held her back from Ian and his cronies.

"All right, you need to know is…" Ben didn't even blink, while both Riley and Andrea's mouths dropped open. "…If you can duck!" And he tossed the flare in Ian's direction and made to escape, just as the flare landed on Ian's arm and caught fire to it. Panicking, Ian dropped the flare and as it landed on the floor, the gunpowder began to ignite.

Ben dashed over to where his niece and Riley were, just as Ian and his two minions scurried out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

Coughing in the smoke, Ben glanced around the room and caught sight of just what he needed to see. "Come on!" he grabbed a hold of Andrea's hand and led her to the other side of the room, Riley following. Ben opened a door that had been hidden by barrels before to reveal a small tunnel. "Get in quickly!"

Sweepingly, Andrea crawled in, followed by Riley, and then Ben. The three huddled together in the tunnel and all flinched when an explosion sounded. Once everything settled, the three explorers climbed out of the debris and into the snow, where they found both Jeeps gone

"Everyone okay?" Ben peered back at his partners as the three of them stood in the middle of nowhere.

Andrea shivered. "Uh-huh," she looked out into the whiteness. "I can't believe Ian did that to us."

"Something about that guy always made me suspicious," Riley confirmed.

"Well, he's gone, that's for sure," Ben peered around again. "There's an Inuit village about nine miles east of here, we'll go there for a ride to the airport."

"So, now what do we do?" Andrea asked her uncle as the trio began to trudge through the snow in direction of the village.

Ben clenched his teeth. "We're officially on a villain chase."

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**Da, da, duh!! Let the adventure begin! But it can't begin unless you press that pretty purple button at the bottom of the screen...go on...I'll give you a cookie...**


	3. Chapter 2: Dr Abigail Chase

**Okay, people, this chapter is a little short, but I consider it one of my favorites to write - I think I squeezed in a lot of Andrea/Riley humor! Thank you to PropheticIllusion, apricot or raspberry, and hollyclaw for putting this story on your story alert list, and thanks to PropheticIllusion for putting it in your faves! Please, if you read this, don't be afraid to review! I could use all kinds of different critique! So, when we last left our heros, they were determined to chase down Ian! Now, they are meeting up with the prissy Abigail Chase for the first time! **

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Chapter Two: Dr. Abigail Chase

Three days after returning home from the Artic, Ben, Andrea, and Riley all sat in the National Archives, slightly discouraged. Previously, they had warned the FBI about Ian's plot to steal the Declaration, leading to them becoming laughingstocks at the FBI building. Now, they were at the Archives, waiting to speak to a Dr. Chase about Ian Howe. The three waited impatiently, tapping their fingers on the arms of their chairs, until finally, a secretary called out, "Mr. Brown? Dr. Chase will see you now."

The three of them rose, and Andrea muttered to her uncle, "Brown? You living a double life, Uncle Ben?"

"My family name isn't well-liked in the academic community," Ben explained to her. "If anyone asks, you're Samantha Brown, my daughter, and you" He turned to Riley. "Are Liam Fitzpatrick, Samantha's boyfriend."

"What?!" Both Andrea and Riley exclaimed.

"It's not for real, people, sheesh," Ben rolled his eyes as the three of them entered Dr. Chase's office.

"Fine," Riley grimaced. "So you're giving us all code names because you won't be kept down by the man."

Just then, a tall, blonde, beautiful woman entered the office and sat herself down at the desk with the plaque that read, Dr. Abigail Chase, on it.

"A cute man." Riley looked mesmerized by Dr. Chase. Andrea couldn't help but give him a gentle punch in the arm. "Ow!" Riley glanced angrily at Andrea. "What was that for?"

"We're dating, _Liam_," Andrea reminded him.

"Oh, right."

Dr. Chase smiled at the three of them. "Hi, I'm Abigail Chase."

Ben stuck out his hand. "Paul Brown. You know, I once knew someone named Abigail."

_My mom, _Andrea thought to herself. Daringly, she leaned over to Riley and hissed, "Great. We're trying to save the Declaration of Independence and Uncle Ben's flirting."

Riley snickered. "Ditto, Sammy."

Dr. Chase shook Ben's hand and then gazed over at Andrea and Riley. "And you are…?"

"Samantha Brown," Andrea smiled at the woman. "I'm his daughter." She motioned to Ben. "But…he's divorced. And…my mom is…a…belly-dancer."

Ben warningly shot Andrea a look, Riley held back a laugh. Dr. Chase questioningly held up an eyebrow. "Yes…?"

"In…Singapore." Andrea finished, blushing hard.

Dr. Chase slowly nodded. "How nice for your mother. And, who are you?" She looked back at Riley.

"Uh…" he leaned over to Andrea and muttered, "What's my name again?"

"He's my cousin!" Andrea announced to Dr. Chase – no way was she telling this woman that Riley was her "boyfriend". "His name is Liam."

Riley nodded.

"All right then…" Dr. Chase turned back to Ben. "How can I help you?" But Ben was not in his seat. Instead, he was over by a shelf by Dr. Chase's many awards and certificates, inspecting what seemed to be a collection of some sort. "Oh!" Dr. Chase blushed. "Please don't touch that, Mr. Brown…"

"Sorry, but this collection is fascinating," Ben looked over the display of presidential campaign buttons. Andrea and Riley shared a look and both mouthed to each other, "_Flirting._" Ben continued, "George Washington's campaign buttons. You're missing a 1789 inaugural, though. I have one, you know."

"How nice," Abigail Chase didn't sound a bit impressed. "Now, my assistant tells me that you have an urgent matter on your hands?"

"Yes, ma'am," Andrea began. "You see, it's a long story, so, we're just going to cut to the point." She took a deep breath. "Someone is going to steal the Declaration of Independence."

"My whacked-out cousin is telling the truth," Riley nodded. Andrea gave him yet another punch on the shoulder.

Abigail couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you three don't seem to know that the Declaration is very well-protected…maybe I'd better get you in touch with the FBI…" She reached for her phone, but Ben blocked her hand.

"We've already told them, Dr. Chase," Ben told her.

"And…?"

"They continually reassured us that the Declaration could never be stolen," Riley shook his head, disgusted, as he recalled the spindly agent at the FBI.

"Well, they are right." Abigail said.

"My partners and I think differently, Dr. Chase," Ben said. "If we were given permission to observe the document, we would be able to conclude whether or not it's in danger."

"And just why is the Declaration so important to these people who are going to take it?" Abigail impatiently answered.

"We believe that there is a puzzle on the back, a map, you see…" Andrea trailed off.

"A map?"

"Yes, ma'am." Andrea nodded.

"And what, Miss Brown, does this map lead to?"

"Hidden items of more value than anything else ever discovered." Andrea firmly replied. "A treasure map."

"A treasure"

"And that is where we lost the FBI," Riley said discouragingly.

"Are you three treasure hunters?" Abigail looked over each of her guests carefully.

Ben paused for a moment and then answered, "We're more like treasure protectors."

"Mr. Brown, Miss Samantha, um…?" Abigail peered at Riley; she seemed to have forgotten his undercover name.

Riley too appeared to have forgotten it and looked over at Andrea for help.

"Liam," she answered, shooting a warning look at Riley.

"Right," Dr. Chase nodded. "Anyways, I have personally seen the back of the Declaration and I promise you that the only thing on the back of the document is the notation"

"Original Declaration of Independence" Ben began.

"Dated July 4th, 1776," Andrea finished for him.

"Right," Dr. Chase straightened in her chair. "But no map."

"Ma'am, the map's invisible." Ben said.

Dr. Chase glanced at him with a confused look. "What?"

"And that is where we lost the Dept. of Homeland Security," Riley muttered once again.

"Dr. Chase, please, why would we make this up?" Andrea said.

Ignoring Andrea, Dr. Chase said, "What led you to believe there was an invisible map?"

"We found an engraving on an approximately 200-year old pipe in the Artic Circle," Ben replied. "Owned by Freemasons."

"Do you have the pipe?"

Andrea and Ben both gazed angrily at Riley, who slouched in his seat. "I may have…kinda lost it at the airport in the Artic…when I was using…" Riley wiggled uncomfortably in his seat.

"The toilet," Andrea finished for him.

"Yeah." Riley blushed furiously.

"I think I may know who is planning to steal it," Abigail said promptly.

Ben, Andrea, and Riley all brightened up. "You do?"

Abigail leaned in on them and muttered, "Was it Bigfoot?"

Ben sighed and rose from his seat, Andrea and Riley followed suit. "It was nice meeting you, Dr. Chase," Ben replied desperately.

"Nice meeting you, too."

Ben turned back to Abigail and motioned his head to her button collection. "That really is a wonderful collection…it must have taken you ages to hunt them all down…" Andrea and Riley both rolled their eyes, muttered, "Flirting," again and left the room, while Abigail softly smiled at Ben.

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Brown."

Once the trio had left the office and were in the elevator on the way to the display room, Riley spoke, "Don't feel bad, Ben. I would have believed you."

"Of course you would," Andrea snapped. "You're a Grade-A gullible."

Ben tiredly glanced at his two companions and both immediately stopped their comments. Andrea smiled gently at her uncle. "Don't worry, Uncle Ben, we'll stop him."

The elevator dinged and the three stepped out and walked over to where the Declaration was kept. Silently, they all studied it. Ben read it carefully to himself and then spoke, "180 years of searching and I'm 3 feet away. Of all the ideas that became the United States, there's one line here that's at the heart of all the others. 'But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, its is their duty, to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security.' People don't talk that way anymore."

Riley scoffed. "Beautiful words, huh?" He then turned back to Ben. "I had no idea what you just said."

Ben studied the Declaration once more. "It means those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action."

Andrea and Riley glanced at each other. "What?"

Ben turned to face his niece and intern. "I'm going to steal it."

Andrea's mouth dropped open, "Excuse me?"

"I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence," Ben repeated, and with that, he walked away from and out of the building.

Andrea and Riley shared another look. "Any chance we can stop him?" Andrea asked Riley.

"Not a chance," he shook his head.

Reluctantly, both of them dashed out of the building after Ben.

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**Now, before anyone tells me this in their review, I'd like to inform you that I am aware that in the original film, Ian has the pipe, and Riley does not lose it in an airport's bathroom, but it'll all tie together in the end.**

**I have Chapters 3 and 4 written, and the beginning of 5, but so I won't get ahead of myself in this story, I may not update tomorrow, as school is starting up for me for the first time since before Holy Thursday. But, feel free to leave your comments, and I promise that I will put up Chapter 3 sometime this week!**

**I wonder what that purple button is for...? Hmm...wink, wink.**


	4. Chapter 3: The Plan in Action

**Okay, I was originally not planning for doing an update today, but I didn't feel like doing a health summary very much, so here's a nice, long chapter for you guys! Thanks to everyone who alerted the story and favorited it! hollyclaw, I know i said you could be my beta reader, but can that start after this chapter? It's pretty long, to keep you all occupied until another update!**

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Chapter Three: The Library of Congress and the Plan in Action

Riley pushed his glasses up a notch and then turned to face Ben and Andrea. "Okay, you two. Here we are, the Library of Congress. Now, first question – why have I brought you here?"

Neither Ben nor Andrea was listening. Ben was rifling through a book, Andrea was scribbling in the family history journal.

"Hey!" Riley snapped, exasperated. "Listen to Riley…why have I brought you here?"

"To prove that you're right and Uncle Ben's wrong?" Andrea concluded, not even looking up from the journal.

"Mouth shut, Andrea," Riley hissed at her. He turned back to Ben. "I have dragged you here because there are over 20 million books here, all holding every bit of research you could ever need. But I'm not finished there. No, here we have" he unfolded a piece of paper in his hand and placed it on the table in front of Andrea and Ben. "The entire layout of the Archives. Here, we've got builder's blueprints, construction orders, etc., etc. It's all here. When the Declaration is on display, it is surrounded by guards, video monitors, students on field trips…" He searched for the right words. "Beverly hillbillies!"

Andrea shook her head and sighed, Ben continued to skim through his book.

"Now, beneath the inches of bullet-proof glass that protects the document, are armies of sensors and heat monitors that will go off when someone with a high fever gets too close to the Declaration. When the document is not on display, it is lowered into a 4-feet thick, concrete, steel-plated vault that happens to be equipped with an electric combination lock and denial systems." Riley smirked at Ben with a proud look on his face.

Ben glanced up from his book. "Did you know that Edison tried and failed nearly 2, 000 times to develop the carbonized cotton thread filament for the incandescent light bulb?"

"What does have to do with" Andrea began.

"I'm getting to that. Edison said, "'I didn't fail, I just found 2, 000 ways to not make a light bulb.'" But he only needed one way to make it work." Ben nodded at Riley. "The preservation room – you know what that is?"

"Where pioneer woman keep yummy jams and jellies?" Riley answered, looking confused.

Andrea snorted. "No. The preservation room is where trained professionals clean, maintain, and repair all the documents when they aren't on display or in the vault. When the case needs work…"

"It's taken to the preservation room," Ben said. "The best time for us – or Ian – to steal the document would be during the Gala at the Archives this weekend, when the guards are looking after the VIP guests. We'll make our way to the preservation room where's there's very little security."

"Wow," Riley looked at Ben, then Andrea. "You guys are smart."

The uncle and the niece smiled and nodded at each other – game on.

* * *

Saturday night came quickly for all of them. Riley came at 6: 30 to Ben and Andrea's building, took the elevator to their third-floor apartment, and rang the doorbell. Ben answered in his tux, frowning.

"What's the matter, slick?" Riley asked, snickering at Ben's outfit. "Your bow tie on too tight?"

"Andrea insists on helping me steal the document," Ben explained, letting Riley in.

"Of course she's going to help!" Riley flopped down on the couch in the living room. "She'll be in the van, helping me lead you to the Declaration."

"She doesn't want to help that way," Ben grimaced. "She's in her bedroom, getting dressed for the Gala."

It took a minute for the words to sink into Riley's system. "Wha"

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "She wants to come into the building with me and distract Abigail while I steal the document."

"Ben, Andrea's a big girl now," Riley replied. "She can take care of herself."

"I'm ready!" a voice came from the doorway. Smiling, Andrea entered the living room.

Riley's mouth dropped open when he saw her. Dressed in a flowing, lilac-colored dress, Andrea was quickly putting up her hair in a fancy bun. She had on no makeup, but yet seemed as beautiful as ever.

"Oh, hi, Riley," she beamed at him. "How do I look?" She slowly spun around so Riley and Ben could see every inch of her.

Ben smiled nervously. "You look beautiful, sweetie," Ben approached his niece to give her a hug. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Uncle Ben, I'll be fine," Andrea assured, not seeming to realize that Riley was still staring at her, mouth wide open. "All I'm doing is staying with Dr. Chase to distract her from chatting with you…is that so hard?" She rested a hand on Ben's shoulder. "You've taught me everything I know, Uncle Ben, trust me, if I know you, I'll be more than safe."

"Man, that's a good pep talk," Riley managed to utter out some words. "Ben, she'll be perfectly fine." He eyed Andrea for a moment, and then continued. "Trust me."

"All right then," Ben disappeared into the next room and reappeared with two bundles of clothes. "Here, Andrea. Put this on over your dress."

Andrea examined the bundle her uncle gave her. "It's a janitor's outfit."

Ben nodded. "Exactly. Last night, I created fake Ids for us so we can sneak into the Gala without showing an invitation. The thing is we have to wear these janitor outfits to get in."

"Do you think I'll really pass for a janitor?" Andrea scoffed.

"No," Ben pulled a baseball hat and a fake, stick-on mustache out of his pocket. "Which is why you'll be wearing these."

"I have to be a guy?" Andrea stuttered.

"It'll be over before you know it." Ben patted her shoulder and started out the front door. "Come on, let's go."

Riley and Andrea hesitated in the living room. Riley motioned at the door. "After you."

Andrea looked surprised that he shot no jokes at her as she slipped on the janitor's jumpsuit, but quickly followed her uncle out the door before Riley changed his mind and decided to stop being nice.

* * *

The van arrived outside the Archives around seven p.m. Ben and Andrea quickly shuffled out of the van in their janitor jumpsuits, Andrea wearing her baseball cap and mustache. Riley climbed into the back of the van from the front seat and peered out at Ben. "Ben, are you still sure we should" Riley was cut off by the slamming of the van door.

"Nice move," Andrea smiled at Ben as the two started across the street to the Archives building. As they made it to the other side of the street, there was a sound of static in their earpieces. Soon, Riley's voice filled their ears.

"Okay, you're officially hooked up." Riley's voice sounded proud and smug.

"Can you hear me?" Ben held his hand up to his earpiece.

"Unfortunately, yes," Riley shot back another joke. Andrea rolled her eyes.

"I knew it wouldn't be long before he started joking around again."

The two entered the building, flashed their fake ids at the security guard, and slowly removed their so-called tool belts to go through the scanner. Andrea was luckily not told to take off her hat and as soon they retrieved their belts, they went off in the direction of the bathrooms. The two spilt in separate directions – Ben into the men's room, Andrea into the women's. Each in a different bathroom, they checked underneath the stall doors, were convinced the rooms were empty, and each ducked into a stall to wiggle out of their jumpsuits. They both discarded of their tool belts and each inspected themselves in the mirror.

"How do you guys look?" Riley's voice of mockery filled their ears again.

"Not bad," her uncle's voice filled Andrea's ear as well.

"And you, Andy?"

Andrea gritted her teeth at the sound of her nickname and answered, "Never ask a woman how she thinks she looks, Riley, because women are way too self-conscious."

Riley scoffed. "Sorry."

Andrea came out of the bathroom to meet with her uncle again. Smiling at him, Andrea linked arms with Ben and together, they walked off in the direction of the party.

"Mazel tov, you two," Riley snickered.

Ben and Andrea continued to ignore Riley's bad jokes as they arrived in the main room. They passed a waiter serving champagne, Ben snatched two.

"Oh, for me?" Andrea smiled and made to take one. "Why, you shouldn't have, Uncle Ben…"

"It's not for you and you know that," Ben held the champagne glass away from her. "It's for Dr. Chase, I just need to find her…"

"Ooh, trying to sneak a drink when you're underage?" Riley joked. "How dare you, Andrea…"

The two finally approached Abigail. She looked surprised to see them. "Why, Paul and Samantha Brown," she smiled. "What a surprise."

"I made a last-minute donation," Ben explained. "I couldn't find a date, so" he wrapped his arm around Andrea. "I just decided to take my little girl."

Andrea smiled at her uncle.

"For you." Ben handed the champagne glass to Abigail.

"Why, thank you," Abigail accepted the drink. She glanced at Andrea, as if looking for a reason to her absence of a drink.

"I'm underage." Andrea finally said.

"Ah."

Ben began to flirt with Abigail just as another man came up to Abigail to hand her a drink. Andrea could sense the tension between her uncle and the stranger, so she drifted off towards the refreshment table.

"Come on, Romeo, move it along…" Riley had no clue Andrea was no longer with her uncle.

"Riley, he's flirting with Dr. Chase again," Andrea covered her mouth with her hand so no one could see her supposedly talking to herself.

"What? Darn, Ben, you have to be obsessed with this particular girl?" Riley groaned.

"Riley, I doubt he even hears you. I'm coming back there out, to wait with you."

"No! Andrea, you promised Ben that you'd distract Abigail…"

"By the looks of it, he's doing it himself," Andrea huffily stormed out of the building and began to cross the street to Riley's van. "Don't try to persuade me, Riley, I'm right here."

Riley stuck his head out of the van window. "No, get back in there, young lady…"

Andrea laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, no way." She jerked open the van door and joined Riley at his computer, letting down her hair and kicking off her high heels. "Give me your headset." She held out her hand for them. Riley hesitated, and then took off the headset and handed it to her.

Andrea slipped on the headset and firmly spoke into it, "Uncle Ben? This is Andrea. Listen, mister, I'm back in the van with Riley and there's no way you're making me come back out, so just get the damn Declaration"

"I'm on my way now," Ben's voice shot back. "Impatient, aren't we?"

"Impatient, aren't we?" Andrea snickered, mimicking her uncle. "Whatever, okay? Just go!"

As Riley kept an eye on Ben's process through the building, Andrea couldn't help but gaze out the van window. Her uncle's plan seemed so flawless back when he, Andrea, and Riley were planning it out in the Library of Congress, but now, with the plan in full action, something seemed wrong…

"Oh, God," Riley's frantic voice broke her out of her deep thoughts. "Ben, I just lost my feed!" He glanced nervously at Andrea. "I lost my feed! Someone tampered with the wires of the security cameras!"

Andrea leaped out of her seat and snatched Riley's headset off of his ears. She shoved it onto her own head, and spoke into a rushed tone. "Uncle Ben, can you hear me?" No answer. "Ben! Say something!" Andrea's heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear herself breathe. A sharp, rigid sound finally stopped the loudness of her system – the sound of gun-shooting. "Oh, God!" The color drained from her face. "Riley, someone's shooting at him!"

Riley grabbed the headset away from her, and half-yelled, half-spoke into it. "Ben, answer us! Who's shooting? Do you have the Declaration?"

There was a pause, and finally, thank the Lord, Ben replied breathlessly, "I'm in the elevator. Ian's here, he's after the document."

Riley gritted his teeth. "I _hate _that guy."

"Uncle Ben, do you have the Declaration?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah, it's right here. Listen, I'll be fine from here on, you don't have to keep in contact. Both of you, get the van ready to go. I'll be right there."

"Please be careful, Uncle Ben," Andrea felt her voice waver, and she bit her lip hard to keep from crying.

"I promise that I will, Princess." Princess. Ben hadn't called her that since she was nine years old.

Riley gently laid a hand on her back. "Andrea, come on, get buckled up…"

"I love you, Uncle Ben," Andrea quickly said into the headset – in case Ben never emerged from the Archives alive – but her uncle had already turned off his earpiece. Slowly, she sat down in the passenger seat next to Riley, silently praying to God…

* * *

The two waited, buckled up in their seats, for fifteen whole minutes. When they grew impatient, Riley jokingly suggested playing a game of Twenty Questions, but Andrea dismissed that idea by punching her companion hard in the elbow. His patience running low, Riley began singing, "Where are you, Ben, where are you…"

"Shut up," Andrea rolled her eyes.

At that moment, they spotted Ben rushing out of the building, looking flushed and relieved to leave. "Stop singing, Riley!" he said into his earpiece, which he had just turned back on. "Start the van!"

Riley happily started up the ignition, until Andrea spotted exactly what they didn't need. She reached into the back of the van to snatch up the discarded headset. Speaking into it, she said in a rushed tone, "Uncle Ben…uh…Dr. Chase is right behind you, and she sure looks pissed."

"That mean Declaration lady?" Riley peeked out of the window and when she saw Abigail coming towards Ben, he swore under his breath. "No!"

Both flinched as they heard Ben open up the back doors of the vans. Peering behind, Andrea saw Abigail Chase approach her uncle with wide and quizzical eyes. "Mr. Brown, what's going on…?" She then noticed that rolled-up parchment hidden in Ben's suit jacket. "What is that?"

"It's a souvenir…" Ben had a nervous tone in his voice.

"Oh?" Abigail raised an eyebrow in question.

Riley snatched up the headset. Holding it to his mouth, he muttered through gritted teeth, "Stop chatting and get in the van!"

Andrea could just feel Ben's anxiety. "Did you enjoy the party?"

Abigail peeked into the van. "Yeah…"

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of raging alarms from the Archives. Fearfully, all four of the people by the van – Andrea, Riley, Abigail, and Ben – snapped their heads towards the building.

"Oh, God," Andrea sunk in her seat, turning pale. "We've been caught."

Riley looked as if he'd pass out from behind the steering wheel. "Oh, my God…"

"Oh, my God!" Dr. Chase's voice screeched from the outside of the vehicle. "You did not…" She eyed the roll of paper clutched in Ben's hand. Her eyes grew round. "Security! Security, over here!"

"Please stop yelling!" Ben said in vain, but Abigail kept on screaming. Her head aching from it all, Andrea finally unbuckled her seat belt and bounded to the back of the van to make eye contact with her uncle and Dr. Chase.

"You've got your daughter involved in this scam, too?" Abigail bellowed at Ben.

Andrea yelled in frustration, and then said, "Look, lady, just shut the hell up, okay? You'll be thanking us for doing this later!"

"Oh, no, I won't!" Abigail whirled in Ben's direction. "Give me that!"

"It's yours." Ben tossed the tube over to her as Andrea's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Uncle Ben!" Andrea shot Ben an 'are-you-out-of-your-mind" look.

Abigail clutched the document in her hands and bounded off towards the Archives. "SECURITY!! OVER HERE!!"

Ben hopped into the van, to have Andrea yell furiously at him. "What the hell are you doing, Uncle Ben?"

Ben's eyes twinkled for a moment, and suddenly, Andrea's anger dampened. Ben had a trick up his sleeve - she could just feel it.

A scream across the street caused Ben, Andrea, and Riley to all turn their heads towards the building. They caught sight of a burly man dragging a fighting Abigail into a modern-looking truck. Ian stood in the back of the truck, smirking.

"Ben! Can we just go?" Riley yelped.

"No, hold it," Ben kicked open the van doors once more to inspect the scene across the street. "Oh, bad. Oh, bad, oh, bad."

The trio watched as Abigail was thrown into the truck, the doors closed behind. In a big screech, the truck took off, the driver taking a lucky shot at the van with his gun. The bullet bounced off the outside of the van, all three flinched.

"GO!" Ben screamed at Riley. "AFTER THEM!"

The van took off after the truck. Her uncle pushed Andrea into the passenger seat, while Riley steered the van right after the truck – into a construction site.

Another scream snapped Andrea's attention to the truck, which had now pulled over next to them. The doors had flung open, with Abigail clinging onto them, the document still in her hand.

Riley's eyes bulged out. "Holy Lord!"

One of Ian's cronies began shooting at Abigail, but Ian stopped him. "Idiot! If she falls, the document falls."

Ben turned towards Riley. "Get the car closer to them."

"Ben!" A vein in Andrea's neck was throbbing. "Are you crazy?"

"Apparently," Ben hung out of the van doors for a moment, reaching for Abigail. Andrea couldn't take the madness anymore and squeezed her eyes shut, clutching the armrest for life. Ever since her parents had died when she was a baby, she was always terrified when the car she was in was speeding.

A crash from the back of the van sent objects flying. Andrea let out a moan, convinced that Ben had been shot by Ian and had fallen on the van floor. But when she heard the van doors slam shut and when Abigail's heavy breathing sounded as if she was right behind her, Andrea knew that both Ben and Dr. Chase were in the van – shaken, but not injured. Cautiously, she opened her eyes.

"Are you all right?" Ben asked to Dr. Chase, but Riley sarcastically piped in.

"Still at the edge from being shot at, but I'll be okay, thanks for asking!"

"We were shot at?" Andrea glanced sideways at the front windows, and gasped when she saw that most of the glass was shattered. She looked down at the floor to see a gold bullet under her bare foot. Shivering, she snatched up the bullet and tossed it out the window.

"Those men have the Declaration of Independence!" Abigail wailed.

"She lost it?" Both Andrea and Riley called out in unison.

"They don't have it," Ben said calmly, and reached into his tux jacket to pull out the real document, carefully wrapped in see-through plastic. "See? Now, can you please stop shouting?"

"Thanks to you, I think I'll have permanent damage to my ears from now on," Andrea rubbed her earlobes in pain – she could still feel her heart thud loudly.

"Give me that!" Abigail reached for the document, but Ben held it out of her reach.

"You're still shouting, Dr. Chase," Andrea pointed out. "It's really getting on my nerves. It'll be really helpful if you act civilized in this situation."

Riley snickered.

"But if that's the real document, what did those men get?" Abigail's voice still rose above normal, but she was no longer shouting.

"A souvenir," Ben plopped down on one of the cushioned benches in the back of the van. "I thought it might be a good idea to have a duplicate – turned out I was right. I had to pay for both the souvenir and the real one, so you own me thirty-five dollars." He smiled to himself. "Plus tax."

"Right on!" Andrea pumped her fist in the air.

"Genius, Ben," Riley turned the steering wheel to round a corner.

"Who were those men?" Abigail questioned.

"So many questions in that brain of yours, huh?" Andrea groaned.

"Those were just the men we told you were going to steal the Declaration," Ben replied.

"And you didn't believe us!" Riley said in a sniggering voice.

"We kept the document safe, you should thank us," Ben pointed out.

Abigail yelled out something in German, and made another grab for the Declaration.

"You're shouting again," Andrea said in a singsong voice.

"I'm pretty sure she was swearing too," Riley added.

"Everything I told you was the truth, Dr. Chase," Ben said. "I level with you one hundred percent."

"I want that document, Mr. Brown!"

"Oh, and his name's not Brown," Andrea said. "He levels with you ninety-eight percent. "He's Ben Gates, I'm Andrea Morrison" She shot a look at Riley. "And that's just the gullible summer intern."

"Gates?" Abigail wrinkled her nose. "You're that family with the conspiracy about the Founding Fathers?"

"It's not a conspiracy!" Both Ben and Andrea said at the same thing. Abigail looked confused when Andrea backed up Ben.

"I also happen to be his niece," Andrea explained. "A Gates by blood."

"You're not liars," Abigail rubbed her temples in vain. "You're all just insane! And how do you plan on finding this so-called invisible map?"

"We have a clean room environment set up, all right?" Riley snapped. "ETS suits, particulate air filtration, the whole chi-bang."

"Really?" Abigail looked somewhat impressed.

"But we can't go back there," Ben loosened his tie and slipped out of his tux jacket.

Andrea turned in her seat to look at her uncle. "Why do I feel that you did something that's got the FBI right on our tracks?"

Ben shifted uncomfortably. "I paid for the fake Declaration with a credit card. They probably have already uncovered my name."

"A credit card slip?" Riley blurted out. "Dude, we're on the grid! The FBI is going have to have your records from forever-" He turned white. "-They'll have my records from forever…"

Andrea pressed her back against her seat. "Mine, too, Uncle Ben." She shot a look at Abigail. "She'll probably get fired just for getting involving."

"I know, don't stress me even more," Ben took a deep breath. "We need those letters."

Andrea's eyes grew wide. "The ones _he _has?"

Ben nodded, Andrea groaned. "Uncle Ben, you know how he thinks you're insane for still believing in the treasure!"

Ben ignored his niece. "Get off the road, Riley. Take a right."

Abigail looked from Ben to Andrea to Riley. "…What letters?"


	5. Chapter 4: Inspection of the Apartment

**Here's another chapter for you guys, sorry it took so long. hollyclaw, I haven't heard from you in awhile and I absolutely swear on my life that your beta reading position can apply starting with Chapter Five! Thank you!**

* * *

Chapter Four: Inspection of the Apartment and Connections Uncovered

In Ben and Andrea's deserted apartment, white, shimmy plastic hung from the ceiling, surrounding a table covered with all of the bottles of chemicals they needed to test the Declaration. Besides the hum of the refrigerator and the meowing of Andrea's cat, Jefferson, everything was quiet.

However, in the hallway outside of the apartment, the sound of hurried feet could be heard. Silently, a SWAT team of about ten men and five FBI investigators gathered around the locked door to Benjamin F. Gates' apartment. One man – apparently the head of the FBI team – counted off with his fingers from three. When he reached one, one of the SWAT members forced the door open. The investigators then pushed their way past the SWAT team and into the apartment.

The head FBI agent – who was named Peter Sedusky – stood in the foyer with his hands folded behind his back. Upon entry, he had noticed the sheets of plastic hanging from the ceiling. Immediately, he sent two agents to inspect the marked-off area and ordered the other two agents to explore the rest of the apartment. Sedusky then jumped a bit when he heard a noise, but relaxed when he realized it was just a tabby cat lounging on the sofa. "Darn cat."

* * *

Moments later, the agent sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by bits of Gates' life. "What have you found me, fellas?" Sedusky asked his team.

Agent Hendricks stepped forward and read aloud from a folder consisting of a resume, which he had uncovered in Ben's bedroom. "Here's what I got on Gates. A degree in American history from Georgetown, degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, naval ROTC and naval diving in the training center."

"Impressive," Sedusky's eyebrows crinkled into one as he inspected the resume Hendricks had found. "We keep our focus on Gates, all suspicions point to him as the crook. Run him to ground and compile a family and friends list – closet relatives first." He tossed the folder down onto the table.

Agent Michaels piped in, "I think I may have an idea of who his closet family member is. I took the liberty of inspecting Gates' laundry basket" When his colleagues glanced at him strangely, he merely shrugged. "And I found some clothing that are…normally worn by females." He showed the group a velvet red skirt and a white, lace bra.

"Is there a Mrs. Gates in the picture?" Agent Sedusky scratched his chin thoughtfully.

Agent Dorris, the only female of the group, shook her head. "Not that we know of. But" She placed a dog-eared photo album in front of her boss. "This was found in Gates' bedroom. Turn to the last page."

Sedusky did so, and came across a photo dated only weeks ago. The snapshot consisted of a tanned, blonde girl around seventeen, wearing a blue mortarboard and graduation gown. The beautiful girl stood between two men in the picture – Gates himself and an elderly man. Also in the photo, standing slightly apart from the trio, a young, goatee-sporting man was shown, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Agent Dorris glanced at Sedusky. "The girl is Gates' niece, according to these official documents signed by court" She slid important-looking papers across the table to Sedusky. "Her name is Andrea Emily Morrison, born on July 31st, 1986" Dorris flashed a framed birth certificate at the men. "Her parents were Abigail and William Morrison. Abigail was Ben Gates' older sister, and both she and her husband died in a car accident on February 4th, 1987" She blinked away a tear as she pointed to the death notice of the Morrison couple, which was also taped into the photo album. "And Gates then became the legal guardian of their daughter."

But Sedusky was deep in thought. "Abigail Gates…I've heard that name before…is there a photo of her anywhere?"

Agent Durst, a broad, black man, approached the table and slapped down a frayed photograph, backside facing up. "I found this under the girl's pillow, in her bedroom."

Sedusky timidly flipped over the photo, which had "_September 25th, 1986_" scribbled on the back in a sloppy hand. Sedusky now faced a beautiful, beaming woman; a dimpled, curly-haired baby girl plopped in her lap. A handsome but mysterious-looking man sat next to the woman, his arm draped around her, his finger stroking the baby's cheek. The family of three appeared to be sitting on the vast lawn by the Congress building. Both of the proud-looking parents were glowing lovingly.

Sedusky felt his heartbeat quicken. This Abigail had been the only woman he had ever loved. The two had met in eighth grade, at boarding school. Abigail was homesick and Sedusky's family had neglected him in the past. Somehow, the two became close friends, even when Abigail returned home to Philadelphia to attend high school there and he had moved into a foster home in D.C. They encountered each other again at NYU, where they both attended college, and started dating each other in their sophomore year. About three years after they graduated, he had proposed, but she had tearfully declined. She had met a man named Bill Morrison…

…He had been invited to the wedding, but never attended.

...He was sent a card at Christmastime, but never wrote back.

…He was asked to attend the girl's Baptism ceremony, but "claimed" to have never received the invitation.

After his failed proposal, he never saw his beloved Abby again – he only caught bits of her name occasionally in the newspaper, when journalists made fun of the Gates family's theory about the Founding Fathers and the Templar Treasure. He had fallen into depression when he heard of her death, and was too upset to pay his regards at the funeral. And now, here Sedusky was, chasing after the man who could have been his brother-in-law.

"Boss?" the other agents glanced at Sedusky, confused. "You okay?"

Peter Sedusky finally nodded. "She must have grown up on my old block," he muttered, quickly changing the subject. "So, Abigail is connected to her uncle stealing the document?"

Agent Hendricks raised an eyebrow. "The girl's name is Andrea, boss, her mom's name was Abigail."

"That's what I said," Sedusky growled. "Is she connected or not?"

"We think she is," Agent Michaels said. "I've just Googled her" He motioned towards his laptop. "And I found out that she graduated from Franklin High as valedictorian last month, and is heading to NYU in the fall on an American history scholarship. She's a history buff – definitely Gates' niece."

"Keep a good eye on Gates and his little niece. Andrea's somehow connected to this, and Gates is definitely our main man." Sedusky hesitated, and then continued. "And even if the girl's not involved, I still want to speak with her."

"Why, boss?"

Sedusky looked away from his agents. "We're connected in a complicated way." He rose from the table. "Go ahead out, I'll be right there."

Agent Dorris tilted her head. "You sure, Peter?"

Sedusky nodded. Once his agents had left the apartment and he heard their footsteps sounding down the hall, he opened the photo album to the page with the picture of Andrea Morrison in her graduation gown. He placed the photo of Abigail and Bill next to it, and then studied both photos.

"She looks just like her," he muttered to himself. Then, he slowly walked over to the door…

* * *

**I know this chapter may seem unneccesary, but I couldn't resist and wanted to show that the FBI was on the gang's tail. In my opinion, there is no emotional side of Sedusky in both films and I thought he needed some feelings. Ooh, and speaking of both films, does anyone know when National Treasure: Book of Secrets comes out on DVD? I may write a sequel to this taken place during NT 2, but I can't do so without a script of it I can find online...so, I hope you enjoy! Don't be afraid to review!**


	6. Chapter 5: A Visit With a Fussy Old Man

**Okay, here's a long one! It was really enjoyable to write, so I hope you write it! Holly, it was the weirdest thing, when I was going through the Microsoft Document the story was on after getting your corrections, I realized that for some reason, some words got spaced together when I copied and pasted...huh...but I did changed some things around thanks to your corrections )**

**A big thank you to everyone who is reading this! This story has gotten 4 favorites and 8 alerts! This is my most successful fic so far! And thank you to daisyduke80 and mrs.poole23 for telling me that NT 2 comes out on DVD on May 20th! I can't wait!**

* * *

Chapter Five: A Visit With a Fussy Old Man

Andrea, Riley, Ben, and Abigail were now by the Washington Monument, the van parked on a wide, spawning lawn. Abigail sat on the floor of the van, with the side door opened. Andrea leaned against the car in her bare feet, Riley poking his head out of the glass free window. However, Ben was not lounging around. He was pacing continuously on the grass. Finally, Abigail spoke.

"You have the original Silence Dogood letters?" she asked, with disbelief in her voice. "Did you steal those too?"

"They're scans of the originals," Andrea answered. She had gotten used to answering Abigail's constant questions.

"Quiet, please," Ben snapped at both of them.

"How did you get the scans?" Abigail questioned once again. Andrea frowned.

"Uncle Ben, I don't even know where you got the scans from," Andrea's eyes narrowed. "You _didn't _steal them, did you?"

"I know the person who has the originals," Ben snapped once again. "Now, both of you – shush!"

Abigail didn't even blink. "Why do you need them?"

Andrea scoffed at her. "You really can't keep that German mouth of yours shut, can you?"

Ben approached Abigail and held out the rolled-up Declaration to her. "Look, Dr. Chase, I will let you hold onto this if you promise to shut up! Please! Thank you."

Riley sighed. "Ben, this is ridiculous. You know what you have to do."

Andrea nodded. "He's right. We have to go to him."

"I know," Ben said, looking tired and old. "I'm just trying to think of anything else we can do."

"Not to be a nudge, but," Riley rolled his eyes, "you do realize how many people we after us, right? At this rate, we probably have our own satellite."

"It took only two seconds for you to decide to steal the Declaration of Independence," Andrea added in. "This decision shouldn't be that hard, compared to the first one."

"I didn't think I'd have to personally tell my dad about my crime, okay?' Ben sighed tiredly.

Just then, the document clutched in her hands, Abigail stood and dashed across the lawn, having quietly discarded her high heels.

"Hey!" Ben took after her. "Not cool!"

As her uncle caught up with Dr. Chase and had a sharp discussion with her, Andrea groaned and turned to face Riley. "When we're thrown in jail, I refuse to share a cell with you."

Riley looked surprised. "You'd rather share a prison cell with a female prostitute than me?"

"Forget the prison cell," Andrea glanced down at her feet. "But I will just kill myself if I have to do this whole treasure hunt thing with Dr. Chase."

"Oh, I get it," Riley snickered. "You're jealous of her because you're used to being the only girl in Ben's life. Plus, to make things worse, he called you 'Princess' earlier."

"Don't remind me," she snapped at him.

Just then, Abigail and Ben approached the two, Ben holding the document with an annoyed look. Abigail – with a prissy edge – climbed back into the van, while Ben thrusted the Declaration at Andrea.

"Oh, no," Andrea's glance shifted from her uncle to Abigail. "Uncle Ben, she is _not _coming with us. _Please_ say she's not coming…"

"She's coming, whether you like it or not," Ben shot at her. He slid past her to sit himself in the passenger seat next to Riley.

"Ben!" Andrea felt the word just barely slide through her gritted teeth. "…Darn you!"

Riley was hiding his smug look by placing his hand over his mouth, but Andrea could sense his feelings right away. "Stop snickering, Poole," she called out. Sighing under her breath, she hopped into the van, taking a seat across from Abigail.

Abigail looked up at her, and shifted a bit in her seat. "Look, Samantha…"

"Andrea," Ben's niece corrected. "Samantha's my 'code name'." She placed air quotes around the last words in her sentence.

"Right…" Abigail bit her lip. This was not off to a good start._ But I didn't take that children-psychology course when she was in college for nothing,_ she thought. "I know things have been kind of…awkward for us…"

Andrea scoffed. "Obviously."

"But…I'm willing to look past that. It seems that I'm going to be tagging along for this little treasure hunt you're going on…so, can we call a truce?" Abigail held out her hand, which was still shaking from the fright of nearly being shot at and from hanging for dear life on a car door.

Andrea observed the hand, and then its owner. She leaned in, to get closer to Dr. Chase's face, and began speaking quietly, hoping that the radio – which Riley was blasting – would drown out her voice from the men, "Never would I call a truce with the woman who I just know will win my uncle's attention. Sorry, Chase, but it's been the "Ben-and-Andrea" show since I was six months old. It's not changing to the "Ben-and-Abigail" show."

Dr. Chase's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Andrea, that's not what I intend to do." She, too, dropped her voice. "Look, I've been following your family in the newspapers for nearly ten years. I know why you live with your uncle." She paused, but then continued. "Your parents passed away when you were a baby."

"What are you, a Gates family stalker?"

Abigail blew air through her lips to contain her patience. "No. But have you talked to any counselors over the years about abandonment issues? Are you afraid that if Ben gets married or romantically involved with someone, you'll be forgotten? Do you feel that your parents _wanted _to die in that accident?"

"Don't talk to me," Andrea declared. "And besides, come September, I'll be away at NYU and Uncle Ben can mingle with whomever he wants." The girl leaned back in her seat, a signal that the squabble between her and Abigail was over – for now, at least - and Andrea had clearly won.

* * *

About two hours later, the gang found themselves right outside Philadelphia, where Ben's father and Andrea's grandfather lived. Ben quietly directed Riley to his father's house, while Andrea and Abigail restrained themselves from killing each other in the backseat. When the van finally pulled up in front of Patrick Gates' home, Ben peered out of the window cautiously. Riley turned to face his boss. "It looks okay, Ben."

Andrea looked out at the house as well. "Some FBI agents and a SWAT team could be hiding behind the house, though."

Ben sighed, clearly ignoring his niece. "Just park a couple of blocks away…"

As Riley steered the car down the street, he asked, "How long do we think we've got until we're tracked down?"

Ben answered him, "A couple of hours at the least."

Riley parked the van several blocks away from Mr. Gates' house and yanked the key out of the ignition. Before any doors were opened, Andrea shot a disgusted look at Abigail. "What about the_ she-devil_ over here? You think we can trust her?"

Riley's eyes glinted mischievously. "I think I've got some duct tape in the back."

Andrea immediately stood and began searching around in the several plastic bins Riley had stored in the backseat. "I'm with Riley on that one. Do you remember where you last saw that tape?"

"Kids, let's be nice to our guest, okay?" Ben said in a mimicking tone, as if he was the mother and Riley and Andrea were his children scheming to plot against Abigail. "Duct tape won't be necessary. You'll behave, right?" He gave Dr. Chase a flirtatious smile. "Promise you'll behave?"

Abigail rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly. "I promise."

Andrea stuck her finger down her throat and made a gagging noise. She yanked open the van door and stepped out; Riley followed suit.

Abigail glanced sideways at Ben. "She's seventeen, you say?"

Ben nodded.

"Funny," Abigail began to climb out into the street, "I was sure she was some immature fifth-grader in a young adult's body."

* * *

The four runaways slowly approached Patrick Gates' front door. Andrea raised her finger and made to ring the doorbell, but Ben stopped her. "Andrea, do you remember when you were nine years old and you were in that dance competition in Florida?"

"Yes…"

"Remember when I had to borrow your grandfather's car to drive you down there?"

"Of course. You and the car were in an accident when you were going to get bagels the morning after the competition…the car was a wreck."

"And when we came home and I had to tell Grandpa about the car, I asked you to put on an adorable face for him so he could get distracted and not be so mad about the car…"

"Oh, I get it," Andrea scowled. "You want me to put on that same face so Grandpa won't be that furious with you for still believing in the treasure."

"You can just read my mind, can't you?" Ben beamed.

"Ha, ha," Andrea chuckled sarcastically and rang the doorbell. "I guess I'll do this one thing for you…"

It took some time for the elderly man to answer the door. When it finally swung open, Andrea immediately slid in front of her companions, blocking them, and gave her grandfather a toothy smile, "Hi, Grandpa! Look who's here for another visit!"

Patrick Gates, wearing his bathrobe and looking slightly drowsy, had caught a glimpse of his son nanoseconds before his granddaughter blocked him. "Benjamin," he smiled, but with no happiness of seeing his family again. "You and Andrea are here." He glanced at Abigail and Riley. "You've brought friends."

"Dad," Ben grinned uneasily. "Um, hi…I'm in a bit of trouble."

Patrick suspiciously eyed Abigail. "Is she pregnant?"

Both Abigail's and Ben's eyes bulged. "I look pregnant?" Abigail's voice cut the tension between father and son.

Ben blushed. "No, no, Dad, she's not pregnant."

Before he could get another word in, Patrick continued, "Oh, my God, Ben…" He pushed his son aside to wrap his arms around Andrea. "This hooligan has gotten Andrea pregnant, hasn't he?" He shot the evil eye at Riley, who gaped at him. Andrea fidgeted in her grandfather's arms and gently broke away.

"Dad, no one is pregnant," Ben's patience was running out. "Can we just come in?"

Patrick nodded stiffly; Abigail and Riley quickly walked into the house, leaving the Gates family together. "This better not be about the dumb treasure, you two," Patrick addressed Ben and Andrea before letting them in.

Inside, the crowd shuffled into the living room, where a half-empty pizza box laid on the coffee table. Patrick sat himself down upon the couch. "Anyone hungry?" He motioned towards the pizza. "It should still be warm."

Riley gratefully helped himself to a slice, while Abigail self-consciously sat down, not interested in any food. Andrea took that moment of silence – and for now, serenity – to bring up the subject of why they were here. "Grandpa…we need the letters…the Silence Dogood ones."

"Yeah, Dad, it's about the treasure," Ben looked down at the floor, doing all he could to avoid eye contact with his father.

Patrick stood up and made his way towards the doorway. "I knew it. Ben, you're wasting your life searching for it. Soon enough, you'll have Andrea so caught up in it that she'll waste her life searching for it, too."

"Grandpa," Andrea sighed. "I won't care if I waste the rest of my life looking. The Templar Treasure has been a part of me since I was a baby." She stuck out her lower lip in plead, hoping that she was still considered cute enough to win over her grandfather. "If you just give us the letters, we're gone."

"Sweetie, that's the same thing I said to myself when I was young and about to go out on my own," Patrick shook his head. "I was sure I'd never get tired of looking for the treasure…I was one hundred percent wrong." He frowned a bit at the thought of his past, and then turned back to his son. "You disappoint me, Ben."

"Well," Ben said with a daring tone, "maybe that's the real Gates family legacy – sons who disappoint their fathers."

More silence filled the room, but Patrick filled it once more. "Don't you see what a bad influence you're setting on Andrea, son? Her mother wouldn't have put up to that!"

Andrea let out a muffled gasp, shocked and hurt that her grandfather would dare compare Uncle Ben to her mother. Ben was more of a parent to her than both of her biological parents combined.

Ben sensed his niece's discomfort and quickly changed the subject. "Dad, listen, can we run a little chemical test in here? I promise we won't disturb you."

"Looking for another clue, eh?" Patrick scoffed. "That clue will lead you to another clue, and another, and another. The whole thing is just a wild goose chase. Don't you get that, Ben? The treasure is a big myth."

Andrea shook her head. "Grandpa, that's not true. There _is _a treasure somewhere."

"Fine," Patrick folded his arms. "Do what you want, Andrea. Same goes for you, Ben. You're both grown people, I don't care what you do." He left for the kitchen in a stomp.

Abigail spoke up when he was gone. "He's probably right, you know. Do you actually know if there's another clue?"

Ben's eyes sparkled as he exchanged a glance with Andrea.

"Well," she smiled at her uncle. "There's only one way to find out, now, isn't there?"

* * *

Although Andrea insisted on helping the group test the document, Ben sent her upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes. Ever since Andrea was a little girl, the guest bedroom at her grandfather's home had been called hers – a place for her to sleep comfortably when she spent the night with Grandpa. She had stowed away some of her clothing in the bedroom's closet a few summers ago, and was surprised to find the clothes still there after so long.

Andrea figured that if the FBI had already discovered that Ben was behind the stealing of the Declaration, they would have already raided the apartment where she and Ben lived. If so, the agents knew that a seventeen-year-old girl lived with the crook they wanted.

Cleverly, she selected a bright green shirt and blue denim overalls to wear – the overalls made her appear younger than she actually was. Next, she braided her golden hair into pigtails. Observing herself in the vanity mirror, Andrea couldn't help but snicker to herself. Ta-da – in less than twenty minutes, seventeen-year-old Andrea Morrison had been transformed into a thirteen-year-old look-alike. Slipping into ankle socks and a pair of Nikes, she made her way back downstairs.

* * *

In the living room, chaos was erupting. Patrick Gates stood utterly stunned, holding the ever so fragile Declaration in his hands, gaping at it. Ben and Abigail stood besides him, sharing a frightened glance between themselves. As Ben began to explain to his father why the Declaration of Independence was in his living room, Andrea tiptoed into the scene and approached Riley. Sitting down besides him on the couch, she whispered, "What happened?"

Riley jumped a bit at her arrival, but then calmed down. "Well, one, old Grandpa Geezer found out that his son stole a national document and that we're on the run from the FBI, and two, Ben and Dr. Chase discovered a secret code on the back of the document." He showed her his legal pad, the first sheet covered with several numbers.

Andrea studied them for a moment. "It's an andor cipher. So, this is a clue to find the clues on the Silence Dogood letters?" She paused, and then continued, "Which, of course, will lead us to more clues?"

Riley scowled. "Darn you, Andy. I wanted to be the one to tell our brilliant historians over there where we'd find the clues."

"Riley, they already knew. Trust me."

"Oh."

A yelp from Patrick broke their conversation. "Oh my God! Ben, I can't act calm in this situation! You _stole _the Declaration of Independence!"

Ben bit his lip nervously. "I know I did."

"You got Andrea involved!" Patrick swung around to face his granddaughter.

Andrea gave him a sheepish grin and slowly waved. "Hi."

Patrick stared for her for a few seconds, and then continued speaking to Ben, "Ben, you also got _me _involved! Any second now, the government will be knocking down my door…"

Ben gently took the Declaration from Patrick and rolled it up carefully. Handing it to Abigail to slip it into its holder, he said to his father, "Dad, I know you'll probably want to turn us in…but, please, just give us the letters, and I swear, I will never bring the treasure up with you again."

"I don't have the letters anymore, son," Patrick looked rather smug. "I donated them to the Franklin Institute years ago. I never bothered telling you because I knew both you and Andrea would throw a hissy fit at me."

Ben was silent, but then drew up the kitchen chair he had brought into the room earlier to sit on. "Dad. Sit."

Patrick obeyed.

Ben took a deep breath. "Andrea," he turned to his niece, "run out to the van and get the duct tape."

Patrick's eyes widened in fear. "_Duct tape_?"

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the gang found themselves on the freeway, in Patrick Gates' car. They had tied Patrick to the chair back at his home and had swiped his car keys without letting him know. Andrea couldn't help but pour out some juice for her grandfather before Ben whisked her out the door. She and Grandpa had been so close when she was younger, that she couldn't bear to see him all tied up like that…

Riley, curled up in a ball in the backseat, muttered exasperatedly to his companions, "I'm hungry."

Andrea – who was unfortunately forced to sit next to him – stared at Riley in disbelief. "You ate at least four slices of pizza back at Grandpa's."

"I'm tired."

"Hey, feel free to sleep, just don't snore in my face."

"This car smells weird."

Andrea opened her mouth to comment, but her shoulders slumped. "That I can't turn into something stupid." She took the time to sniff the area. "Hey, it kind of does smell weird…"

"Quit it, you two, would you?" Ben tiredly clutched the steering wheel. Here he was, unmarried with no biological kids, but yet, with Andrea and Riley, he always felt as if he was a parent with two bickering preschoolers. He turned to Abigail. "I think we should change clothes. We might look kind of conspicuous dressed as if we were going to a party."

"I'd love to go shopping too, Ben, but we have no money," Riley adjusted his position in the backseat.

"Yes, we do," Ben held up his wallet, which had been stuffed with cash. "I swiped this from my dad's safe."

"Taken a habit to stealing things, have we?" Abigail smiled weakly at him.

"Uncle Ben!" Andrea wailed. "You stole his money too? That'll make him write you out of his will for sure!"

"I had no other option, Andrea, I swear!" Ben pocketed the wallet.

"Actually," Abigail thoughtfully turned to the back to face Andrea and Riley, "I think you two should go down to the Franklin Institute while we're shopping and try to decode the message in the Silence Dogood letters."

"Wonderful idea," Ben flashed her a grin.

Andrea felt something inside her ping as she saw her uncle and the woman she couldn't stand share a more-than-friendly glance. Just hours ago, Dr. Chase had said to her that wooing over Ben was not what she intended to do. But yet, here Abigail was, having a mushy moment with him! Could the "Ben-and-Andrea" show finally be closing down after all these years, to have the remake – the "Ben-and-Abigail" show – replace it?

* * *

**There it is! And if you guys don't mind me asking, do you think the portrayment (I don't know if that's a real word, lol...) of Andrea is okay? It's sometimes hard to describe the feelings of an OC, so I was wondering if her feelings are clear and easy to understand...**

**Don't be afraid to leave a review - even if it's only a word long!**


	7. Chapter 6: Decoding the Message

Chapter Six: Decoding the Message

Early the next morning, the group spilt in half for the time being – Ben and Abigail headed off in search of a department store, while Andrea and Riley walked over to the Franklin Institute. As the two approached the famous museum, Andrea stopped in her path.

Riley peered at her and touched her shoulder in question. "What's wrong?"

"Do you think we should go in?" Andrea gazed hesitantly at the marble building. "What if the FBI tracked down my grandpa and he told them where we were going? Or what if Ian's on our tail and is in there this very moment?"

"Good point," Riley observed their surroundings. A hot dog vender was selling two dogs with the works to a young couple, while a yellow school bus pulled up to the curb. Andrea and Riley watched as the doors to the bus creaked open and a twenty-something-year-old camp counselor climbed out, followed by about eighteen campers dressed in matching yellow shirts.

A light bulb flashed above Andrea's head. "I have an idea," she grinned at Riley. "Just follow my lead." Approaching the camp counselor, she began, "Good morning, miss! My colleague and I are new recruits of the Franklin Institute…" She racked her brain for the right words. "…History Mystery Squad…"

Riley snickered; Andrea stepped on his foot very lightly. Beaming at the counselor, she continued, "…And we'd like to tell one of your campers – a very bright one – about the history mystery of the Silence Dogood letters that are displayed in the museum. May we borrow one of your campers for this life-changing experience?" _Oh, God, _she thought. _That sounded so cheesy…_

The counselor glanced at the two in a tired way. "Look, lady, the only reason I'm doing this is for the pay. I barely know the kids' names – pick one yourself, okay?" She strutted off towards the museum steps, her campers following her. One kid hung behind though, and shyly approached Andrea and Riley.

With wide eyes, the kid asked, "Are you two from the CIA?"

Andrea shook her head, and bent down to the kid's height. "What's your name?"

"Jamal."

"Okay, listen, Jamal – we'll pay you a buck every set of letters you bring us – go inside, find the Silence Dogood letters, and write down each capitalized letter in order on here." She handed Jamal a sheet of paper and a pencil. With a low, unprofessional voice, she continued, "We'll give you an extra three bucks if you don't tell anyone what you really did."

With that, Jamal shrugged to himself and bounded inside the museum. "Wow," Riley looked impressed. "You have a way with kids – tough and straight to the point."

Andrea nodded. "That's what three summers of being a counselor at Camp Sunshine can get you."

The two walked across the street to sit on a bench to wait for Jamal, Riley buying a newspaper from a vendor on the way over. The two sat patiently, carefully analyzing every person that passed, praying that it wasn't a FBI agent or Ian…

* * *

At a nearby Urban Outfitters', Ben and Abigail were changing their clothes in separate dressing rooms that happened to be next to each other. Abigail was the one that started up a conversation. "So, you show up at your father's door, you say you're in trouble, and the first thing he assumes is that I'm pregnant?"

Ben laughed. "Apparently, my father thinks I've been a little too cavalier in my personal life. He's the straightforward type." He zipped up the jacket he had just slipped on. "…Andrea's just like that."

"I've noticed how she can get," Abigail remembered how Ben's niece had acted in Riley's van the previous night. "I feel bad for her…because of her parents."

Ben opened the hinged door to his dressing room and stepped out. "Oh, well…it was a long time ago and she was only a baby." He smiled. "Her mother was named Abigail, you know."

"Oh?" Abigail came out of her dressing room as well. "Hey…Ben, has Andrea seen any guidance counselors over the years about any issues she may have?"

Ben stared at her with realization. "She was rude to you last night, wasn't she?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say rude…with what she's been through, that's perfectly normal behavior."

"Ah," Ben pondered the thought for a moment. "Well, she regularly saw the school guidance counselor in junior high, but mostly because she wasn't very social with the other kids. Come on, really, why do you ask?"

"No reason," Abigail said flirtatiously.

Ben gazed at Abigail, enhanced by her eyes. He suddenly forgot all about his niece's old middle school problems. "This is off-topic, but have you ever told someone – not a relative – "I love you"?"

Abigail sported an all-knowing look. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Ben shook his head, beaming. "No reason."

* * *

Riley nibbled on his pencil's eraser and frowned at the letters he had scribbled onto his newspaper. With only one more set of letters to retrieve, Jamal was inside the museum, taking an extremely long time to bring Andrea and Riley the last part of their puzzle.

"I'm stuck," Riley announced. "Can that kid go any slower?"

Andrea was finishing off a hot dog she had purchased from the nearby vendor. "Give him a break, Poole, he's only nine years old."

"Said the girl who could name all the presidents in chorological order by the time she was seven," Riley haughtily shot at her.

Andrea glared at him, and tossed the remains of her lunch in a nearby garbage can. "Hey, that's what you get when you're raised by a U.S history genius."

"Ha, ha," Riley rested his head in his hands. "My family was nothing like yours…they're so different you'd be surprised."

"Try me."

Riley's eyebrows rose. "No, I'm serious. You'd be stunned."

"Well, at least tell me about your folks," Andrea looked questioningly at Riley. "I've known you for almost two years and the only thing I know about your personal life is that you've never been in a serious relationship with a woman for more than two months."

Riley growled at her. "That stays a secret between the two of us, okay?"

Andrea laughed. Leaning her head back to soak in the sun's warm rays, she remembered how back in the Artic, she had promised her uncle that she'd stop teasing Riley for the rest of the summer. _So much for that promise, _she thought. Suddenly recalling yet another memory, Andrea faced Riley again. "Alcoholics."

"Excuse me?" Riley's face turned red for a moment.

"Your parents were both alcoholics," Andrea choked on her words, her eyes growing watery. "Uncle Ben told me back when he first hired you…he said to try not to bring it up with you, because you'd be too upset…" Hesitantly, she reached over and gave Riley a hug. "I'm so sorry, Riley."

He sniffed and uncomfortably shifted in her arms. "Andy, really, it's no big deal, I was in a foster home by the time I was four…"

Andrea glanced at him, question in her eyes. "Did you have problems with abandonment too?"

"What?" Riley looked confused. "Of course, I didn't, I was able to understand that my folks had problems, so – "

"You're lying!" Andrea's voice rose, and the hot dog vendor peered over at them in suspicion. Andrea ignored him. "Riley, that can't be true…there must be a reason why you act all sarcastic – "

"Andrea, stop it –" Riley made to push her away, but something in his hands did the wrong thing – actually, not his hands, more like his head. Something in his body caused him to lean forward and brush Andrea's lips with his.

Andrea yelped and pulled away, quickly standing up from the bench, her face burning hot. Riley, also blushing, stood up as well. "I swear I didn't mean to do that! I – I don't know what happened! Andrea – "

Her heart thumping, Andrea turned away from him, unsure of what to say. Finally, she scooped up the discarded newspaper from the bench and studied the letters once more. "Come on, Poole, we've got to figure out what this means – Jamal is taking too slow."

"Andrea," Riley's ears were still a shade of bright pink. "Really, I didn't mean to…"

"Riley," she glanced up at him, and Riley was stunned to find her eyes swimming with tears, "just help me figure this out, okay?"

Riley kept his distance away from Andrea, but stayed close enough to read the letters scribbled onto the paper. Convinced that he'd never crack the code, he glanced around the street anxiously, taking in all of the scenery. A passing bus caught his eye, and advertisement for the Liberty Bell emblazed on the side of the vehicle. His eyes widening, he suddenly noticed exactly what he and Andrea were looking for. He snapped his head towards her. "Pass and Stow – the words on the Liberty Bell!"

Andrea glanced up to look at the bus, and her eyes grew round in recognition. "Of course!" She thrusted the newspaper at Riley. "Come on! We've got to go tell Ben and Abigail!"

Riley began running first, Andrea shortly took off after him. But something made her stop. Turning around to face the museum, she wondered if she should leave the rest of the money she promised Jamal on the bench. Before she could convince herself to pull out the right amount of money, she caught sight of a burly man with shaggy, blond hair descending the steps of the museum, apparently following Jamal, who was patiently waiting at the curb to cross the street.

Andrea's heart twisted up in fear. "Oh my God," she muttered to herself. "I'd know that hair anywhere."

As if the world had suddenly gone into slow motion, Andrea watched as the traffic light hanging on a wire in the air turned green and Jamal began dashing across the road. She felt her knees wobble under her weight as Ian Howe strutted right after the little boy…

…And turned his head in Andrea's direction. For a moment, it appeared as if Ian had seen her, and Andrea could of sworn that he was looking at her with wide eyes, immediately recognizing her as Ben's niece. Andrea just couldn't run, her feet were glued to the sidewalk…

"Andrea!" Riley stopped in his path, and quickly ran back to the girl he had accidentally kissed a minute ago. Reaching her, he wrapped his arm around her. "What's wrong? Why aren't you coming?"

Andrea broke her eyes away from Ian – he was crossing the street, coming closer and closer… "Riley…" her heart was beating so loud she could barely hear herself speak. "…Just run!" Grabbing his hand, she made a mad dash for the clothing store her uncle and Abigail were in, not daring to look behind her…

* * *

**I thought that the whole conversation between Andrea and Riley was pretty random, but you know, it was what was needed to finish the chapter :) I'd really like to hear your opinions and comments, a writer's best tool is a good piece of critique!**

**Oh yeah, and in case you rememebered that in the film, "Jamal" is dressed in a school uniform, but this was taking place in the summer, so I made it summer camp :)**


	8. Chapter 7: Independence Hall

**Hello readers! I'd just like to thank you all for favoriting and alerting this story! And to inform you guys just in case, my computer is slowly dying, so in case I do not update for awhile, it's because I'm without Internet connection. Although, I have this story saved on my flash drive, so I could possibly use my dad's laptop once in a while...**

**Extra thanks to my beta reader, hollyclaw!**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Independence Hall

Breathlessly, Andrea and Riley ascended the steps of an Urban Outfitters', to find Ben and Abigail purchasing their new clothes at the counter. Excitedly, Riley ran ahead of Andrea to tell the two of the new clue.

"Hey, guys," Ben smiled at Andrea and Riley, his niece slowly approaching the rest of the group looking slightly pale. "Did you get the message?"

"Oh, we got it," Riley nodded, grinning widely. "The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow. And Pass and Stow are obviously referring to – "

" The Liberty Bell," the rest of the group finished off for him.

Abigail said, "John Pass and John Stow… they were the castors of the bell."

Riley gave each of his companions an annoyed look. "Why do you guys have to do that?"

Andrea rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe this was the same guy who was blubbering after 'accidentally' kissing her such a short time ago. "Riley, trust me – it's a sign that we care."

"What does the rest of the message mean, though?" Abigail questioned, apparently not caring about Andrea and Riley's conversation.

"Isn't it obvious, Velma?" Andrea snorted, sarcastically referring to a Scooby-Doo character. "The vision to see the treasured past has to refer to a way to read the map."

"But wasn't the cipher the map?" Riley was beyond confused.

"No," Ben shook his head, deep in thought. "The cipher was a way to find the way to _read_ the map."

Abigail suddenly caught on, "And the way to read the map comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the Liberty Bell…"

"Crosses in front of the _house _of the Liberty Bell," Ben corrected.

"Independence Hall," Andrea realized. "A timely shadow is a specific time."

"What time?" If Riley's eyebrows were any higher in confusion, they'd fall off his face.

"What time?" Ben said, practically asking himself the question. "Hmm…oh, wait." He smiled at Abigail. "You'll love this – "

"Hey!" Andrea frowned. "I can read you like a book, Uncle Ben, and I know you're going to say something involving history. You should know that I'd love it too!"

Ben hardly looked over at her. "All right, if you say so, hon," he shrugged, and continued, turning to the cashier, "Excuse me, but can I see one of those hundred-dollar bills I paid you with?"

The cashier, a woman in her late teens with black eyeliner thickly surrounding her eyes, stared at him. "No – company rules."

Andrea stepped in, "He has a diver's watch." She grabbed a hold of her uncle's wrist and showed the woman the watch on Ben's arm. "It's called a sub-mariner. It's waterproof, pretty valuable, and it can be used as a collateral."

Ben shot a glance at her. "Andrea!" He broke away from her, but not before the cashier reached out for the watch.

"I can give it to my old man for a birthday present," she shrugged. "He likes boring stuff like that."

"Great!" Andrea beamed at the clerk, and immediately yanked the watch off of Ben's wrist with no troubles. "Here." She dropped the item into the clerk's outstretched hand. "The hundred-dollar bill?"

The clerk rummaged around in the cash register and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. She handed it over to Andrea.

Ben was not pleased at his niece for giving up his watch. "Andrea Emily…"

"You're welcome, Uncle Ben," Smiling innocently, Andrea gave him the bill.

"We'll talk later," Ben told her, and then turned to Abigail and Riley. "On the back of a hundred-dollar bill is an etching of Independence Hall, based on a painting done in the 1780s, which was made by a friend of Benjamin Franklin's. It's really wonderful…" He held out the holder the document was in to Abigail. "Hold this." But Ben then remembered what had happened the last time he had let Abigail hold the document…

"I'm not going anywhere," Abigail smiled at him and took the holder. Andrea bit her lip hard to keep herself from loudly protesting.

"Now," Ben grabbed one of the water bottles that were being displayed on the counter and held it in front of the bill. "I think that if we look at this clock tower, we may find the specific time."

Andrea peeked from behind him to see the image. "What does it say?"

"2:22," Ben placed the water bottle back on the counter. "Excuse me, miss, what time is it now?" He was practically bouncing in excitement, making the cashier look a little frightened.

"Almost three," the woman told him.

Abigail's shoulders slumped in rejection. "We've missed it."

Riley suddenly perked up. "No…we haven't! There's still time for us to – " His eyes rose in awe. "None of you know this?" He laughed to himself. "You're kidding me, right?"

Andrea began to roll her eyes, but caught herself. Riley had just kissed her – Andrea's first kiss since the tenth-grade cafeteria incident with Kirk Hogan. Did Riley really deserve to be teased by her _again, _after he just kissed her?

Riley smiled excitedly. "I know something about history that the legendary Gates don't know! Something that a historian doesn't know!"

Ben glared at him. "I'd be very happy to learn about it now, Riley."

"Let me just take in the moment," Riley protested. "This feels…cool…hey, Andy, is this how it feels every time you say something that makes what I just said sound completely idiotic?"

Andrea couldn't resist anymore – she gladly smacked Riley right in the shoulder. "Tell us before my fist becomes in contact with your face!"

"Okay," Riley huffed. "Well, what I know is that Daylight Savings wasn't established until World War I. If it's 3 p.m. now, that means in 1776, it'd be –"

"2 p.m.!" Andrea finished with glee. "We still have time!"

Riley shot daggers at her with his eyes. "Why must you always do that?"

Ben began heading down the stairs to the store's exit. "Riley, you're a genius!"

Abigail followed Ben. "Come on!"

As Riley and Andrea began descending the steps as well, Riley spoke, "Hey, you know, the first person to suggest Daylight Savings was…"

"Benjamin Franklin!" his companions blared at him as they flung open the door.

"Drat!"

* * *

Exactly ten minutes later, Andrea, Riley, and Abigail were standing in the signing room of Independence Hall, anxiously waiting for Ben to return to them after retrieving the new clue up on the roof of the building. The group had tagged along on a tour of the Hall, but quickly separated from the tour guide several minutes into the exploration of the building. After that, the four had made their way into employees-only territory up to the bell tower, where they had spotted out the exact location of the new clue. Andrea, Riley and Abigail had then come back downstairs into the signing room.

Ben prudently entered the room, waiting at the entrance until the tourists snapping photos of the interior left the area. He then approached his niece, Riley, and Abigail, an object clutched in his hand.

Abigail looked at him with a flushed, excited look. "You found something?"

"Of course," Ben opened his fist to show the other three a kind of bifocal glasses. "I found some sort of ocular device – the vision to see the treasured past?"

"Bifocals?" Andrea carefully took the glasses from her uncle, tracing its outline with her fingertip. "Like what Ben Franklin invented?"

Abigail peered observantly at the glasses. "Ben Franklin might have invented _these._"

Riley tilted his head. "So, what do we do with them?"

"We look through them," Andrea smiled slyly and put the device on, treating it ever so carefully. "And through them, we'll probably see a new clue on the document."

Ben nodded, and Abigail tipped the holder to have the Declaration come out. She unrolled it and held one side of the parchment, while Ben and Riley each held another.

Just as Andrea began to lean in to observe the paper, Ben let out a long, almost nostalgic sigh. Andrea peered questioningly at him. "What's the matter?"

"Think about it," Ben looked admiringly at the Declaration. "The last time this was here…" He eyed each of his companions, his eyes twinkling. "…It was being signed."

The whole group smiled and took a moment of silence to soak in the thought. Then, almost wistfully, Andrea softly sang, "_Sit down, John_…"

Ben and Abigail laughed as Riley's face broke out into confusion. Ben, too, began to sing, "_For God's sake, John, sit down…_"

Together, uncle and niece sang, "_Too many flies, too many flies…_"

To their surprise, Abigail boldly belted out one of the last lines, "_Somebody open up a window_!"

The three chuckled amongst themselves, but Riley ruined the perfect moment. "Is there a reason why you three were singing just now?" His eyebrows flickered up and down. "And may I add, very off-key?"

Andrea groaned. "When Ian's in the slammer, I am so renting _1776 _for you." She then observed the document, and became wide-eyed. The image she saw was one of different colors, displaying several words… "It says 'heere at the wall' – here spelt with two e's."

Ben took the glasses from her, put them on himself, and studied the image. "You're right."

Abigail shook her head in astonished belief. "Unbelievable."

Riley sighed in exasperation. "Is it against the treasure hunting code to have a clue just say, 'Go to this place, you'll find the treasure'?"

Andrea's eyes drifted off to the window, and suddenly, she felt the terrible, gut feeling she went through back at the Franklin Institute. "Oh, no," she whispered, her heartbeat quickening. "Don't look now, but we have company."

Everyone else snapped their heads towards the window, and gasped as they caught sight of Ian and two of his henchmen right outside Independence Hall's entrance.

"We can't get out without them seeing us," Abigail wailed.

Andrea scoffed at her. "Okay, I know now's not the time for me to act all petty, but why must you whine and only state the obvious?"

"Andrea, you can criticize her once we're out of this place," Ben warned her. "Now, we don't want Ian to get the Declaration or the glasses, but it's most important for him not to get both – we're splitting up." He pocketed the glasses. "I'll take these, while the rest of you take the document. We'll meet up at the car, call me if you have any problems –"

"Uncle Ben," Andrea gritted her teeth. "What is with you? Every other time you've tried to find the treasure, you never even hesitated to tell me to accompany you to the most dangerous places. And now, you're making me go with one-third of the Three Stooges and Miss Legally Blonde?" She felt her heart pounding – she truly didn't mean to say that. But, everything had changed this summer, and in such a short period of time! Her uncle was a different person, and all because of Abigail Chase.

"Young lady," Ben seemed surprised at his niece, but that didn't stop the sternness and annoyance in his voice, "you _know _now's not the time to get angry at me. I have to say, you're acting quite differently as well –"

"That's only because of her!" Andrea accusingly pointed at Abigail, who shrunk in confidence when Andrea did so. "Look, I know this is crunch time, but you haven't been paying attention to any of my feelings on this trip –"

"Andrea Emily Morrison!" Ben rarely yelled at her, but she couldn't see why he wouldn't at the time. "You stop that! We'll talk later, I promise! But you're going with Abigail and Riley and that's final!"

"Fine," Andrea declared, praying that the quivering in her voice was not very noticeable. She grabbed the document from her uncle, rolled it up, and stuffed it in its holder. "I'm going with them. But now, I couldn't care less if I went with you – a pompous, history geek who only wants to prove his father wrong!" Biting her lip so hard that blood filled her mouth, she said to Ben, "Go. The boldest man dies first."

Ben stared at her, looking as if he'd wanted to slap her in the face. But he strutted off towards the exit, not even looking back.

As she heard the door slam behind Ben, Andrea froze, her heart throbbing – had those words really come out of her mouth? Never had she erupted at Uncle Ben like that…oh, God, what was the matter with her?

The sound of quiet sobbing broke Andrea away from her thoughts - Abigail, too, was attempting to fight back tears.

Embarrassment rushed Andrea, and she stuttered, "Oh, Abigail, I'm so, so sorry – I – I didn't mean what I said about you…"

"No, it's okay," Abigail choked out, refusing to look at neither Riley nor Andrea. "It's a free country, right? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion…" Her hand on her cheek, trying to dry the tears, she headed over to the exit. "Come on, we all have to leave together."

Andrea felt worse than she ever had before – she had hurt her uncle, insulted his to-be girlfriend, and supposedly was mad at the mad who had "accidentally" kissed her such a short time ago. She had changed so much in just hours – she was furious at Ben, her best friend, for truly neglecting her for the first time in years. How could an inseparable pair like Ben and Andrea quarrel like that and turn against each other in less than two days? Ben had done everything for her…why was she thanking him _this _way?

"Andrea?" Riley gently spoke to her – for once, his voice held no mockery. "If you don't mind me asking, what just happened with you and Ben?"

Andrea turned to face him. The waterworks had arrived, and her eyes were swarming with tears. "Oh, Riley…you want the truth?" She stopped to look back at the window, as if Ben would be there, grinning, yelling out, "April Fools!" Then, she'd find herself five years into the past – before Riley and Abigail came along and when Ben and Patrick Gates were on good terms. She, her uncle, and her grandfather would just be spending another weekend touring Philadelphia, not a care in the world, just happy to be together…

Andrea looked at Riley once more. "I honestly have no idea what happened."

And with that – her eyes red and soggy – Andrea walked out of the signing room with Riley. The two grouped together with Abigail, opened the door, and stepped outside – but Andrea was only wishing that there was such a thing as a time machine and she could go back in time and never start that cursed argument with Ben – her only friend.

* * *

**Haha, if you, like Riley, did not understand why Andrea, Ben, and Abigail were singing, I advise you to rent 1776! It's a great musical, especially for lovers of the Revolutionary period! **

**I promise you guys, there is a BIG turning point in the next chapter...but I cannot reveal it just now, hehe! Please leave a review!**


	9. Chapter 8: On the Run

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* * *

**

Here it finally is! I know it's a little short, but the twist will make up for it!

* * *

Chapter Eight: On the Run

Almost at the exact moment the three stepped out of Independence Hall, two of Ian's several cronies caught sight of them and began chasing them. Andrea, who knew the city well, led Abigail and Riley away from the site, all of them running as fast as they could. Andrea's two companions continued to look behind them, to check if the villains were any close to them. But Andrea kept running, not looking back, just wanting to get away from it all…where had Ian gone? To chase after Ben? Had the FBI interrogated her grandfather? Were they on their tails as well?

The three approached a packed and busy shopping center, hoping that Ian's henchmen would lose them in the crowd. Andrea led Abigail and Riley into a grocery store, heading towards the back of the store. "This way!" she called out to them as they approached the deli counter. She was nearing a staff room when she noticed that her companions had not heard her and had run the other way. Groaning to herself, Andrea glanced to the front of the store where the baldest of Ian's men was peering around, just waiting for a familiar head to pop out…

Without thinking, Andrea swung the Declaration holder over her shoulder and lifted herself over the deli counter as rapidly as she could. Now blocked by the barrier of meat varieties, she buried her head in her knees, breathing heavily, wishing that she could have the power to stop time…

"Excuse me?" A stern, pedal-to-the-metal voice was heard, and Andrea snapped her head back up. The cashier at the deli counter was staring at her, plucked eyebrows raised.

"Oh…" Andrea stuttered as she searched for the right excuse. "…Hi."

"Hi," the cashier said sarcastically, waving her hand at the strange teenaged girl behind her deli counter. "Listen, honey, unless you're a pound of corned beef in disguise, you don't belong here."

"Oh, please!" Andrea wailed, pushing the dramatic scale up a notch. "I'm just trying to hide from my abusive father! I'm in a foster home, but he's stalked me ever since I was taken away from him three years ago!" Her eyes filled up with tears – not because she was an outstanding actress and could muster a fake cry, but because she was recalling how Riley had spent his early childhood in a foster home…

The cashier peered over at the crowd - Ian's employee was coming closer and closer. "Who is he?" the cashier questioned. "Baldie?"

Andrea nodded. "Yes."

"Sweetie, stay as long as you like."

A rush of relief swarm through Andrea. "Thank you so much." She slouched down on the ground, clutching the holder with her best grip, praying that she could get out of this situation safely…

"Can I help you?" the cashier bossily asked the bald man.

The man ignored her, his eyes flickering back and forth between every blonde, golden-skinned woman who passed, questioning if one of them was Andrea.

The cashier asked again, "Can I help you, sir?"

The man scoffed at her. "Shut up." And with that, he was gone, having left the store.

Andrea couldn't help but smile as she stood up.

The cashier looked knowingly at her. "I can see why you were running from him."

* * *

After slipping out of the grocery store, Andrea went to hide behind a display of kites in a toy store, looking out at every face that passed. She was completely unaware that two people were approaching her from behind, one of their hands reaching out towards her…

"Holy crap!" Andrea screeched as a hand touched her back. She yanked her head around to find Riley and Abigail there, Riley attempting to shush her. Andrea blushed and said in a whisper, "Where were you guys?"

"Isn't it obvious, Velma?" Abigail said – she had finally learned a lesson or two in sarcasm from Andrea. "We were hiding."

"Ha, ha," Andrea snickered at her, but Riley stopped the possible catfight at that moment.

"You guys can rip each other's hair off later, okay?" he promised. "Now, come on!"

The three exited the shopping center and headed towards the direction of Patrick Gates' car. They were running…they were invincible…they were lightning…the three approached a street corner just as the traffic light turned green. Andrea was the first to step into the road…

…To be jostled to the concrete by a passing businessman. Andrea was violently pushed down to the ground, tripped over her own feet, and fell headfirst on the street. The businessman, a cell phone practically glued to his ear, turned to motion out his apologies, but did not stop to help Andrea up.

A warm substance was overpowering her face…blood. The concrete had scraped her forehead as she fell…Andrea groaned as the blood trailed down her face and onto the street. The document's holder fell out of her hands and rolled away from her, stopping just inches away from the gutter. Riley and Abigail immediately ran out onto the road to assist her, but stopped in a an nanosecond when they caught sight of the man approaching Andrea from the other side of the street…

…It was Ian. Andrea's heartbeat quickened as she saw the Timberland boots near her crumpled and wounded state. She did not dare to look up – maybe if she avoided eye contact with him, she wouldn't as frightened as she already was…

Riley bravely ran forward to her and placed his hands on her back. "Andrea, get up! Ian's –"

"…About to get all he deserved," Ian called out from the other side of the street. His grin saying it all, he backed up towards the sidewalk, bent down, and picked up the Declaration's holder, placing it on his shoulder. Chuckling, he turned and made his way down the sidewalk, walking out of Andrea's sight…

…She couldn't let him do it. Her blood beginning to stain her clothes, she grunted in pain as she got back on her feet …

…And dashed right after Ian, not even looking back. Riley made to follow her, but Abigail hopped in, yanking him back towards the opposite sidewalk. "You can't do anything! It's too dangerous! We can't risk both of you!"

"So we risk Ben's niece?" Riley shot at her. And with that, he crossed the street, dodging between the moving cars. Abigail had no choice but to follow him…

* * *

Andrea couldn't believe what she was doing – _why _was she doing this? Bloody, worn out, and nearly half-conscious, she was chasing right after the man who she had been protecting the Declaration of Independence from – a mission in which she failed.

Ian disappeared down an alleyway, Andrea followed. She watched him round a corner, and her heart throbbing, she stopped to catch her breath, and to rethink about her most recent decisions. She was doing this even though it was completely idiotic and dangerous – she was doing it for Ben, to give him a non-verbal sign that she wished to reconcile with him and apologize. All she wanted was to hug her uncle again, to laugh with him and dine with him, to smile at him. It was all for him.

She boldly ran forward without a second thought…

…And ran right into Shaw, one of Ian's most burliest henchmen.

Immediately, she was thrown off her feet by Shaw's broad body and landed back onto the concrete. The skin on her bare arm broke, and more blood trickled out. Andrea longed to let out a satisfying moan of pain, but mustered all of her strength to fight it.

Ian appeared out of the shadows. "We love falling and bleeding, don't we, Andrea?"

Andrea scrambled to her feet and glared at him, her nostrils flaring. "Let me warn you, Howe, I took karate lessons for three and a half years as a kid and could easily knock out you and all of your thugs."

"Knock us out?" Ian scoffed. "You're near passing out yourself!"

Andrea ignored his comment. "Listen, we can work this out. With your crafty skills and Uncle Ben's decoding skills, we'll find the Templar Treasure in no time. We can look past our differences and the fact that we've been trying to kill each other for the past few weeks."

"Oh, no," Ian shook his head, his eyes glinting. "I've waited too long to _share _the glory of finding this treasure with other people, especially with three of the legendary Gates."

"Three?" Andrea began to wrinkle her nose, but stopped to – it inflicted too much pain on her. "What do you mean? Only Ben and I are involved in the treasure now – Grandpa gave up on the whole idea years ago."

"Not anymore, love," Ian snickered and motioned to Shaw. He nodded and approached the villains' car, which was parked right by a Dumpster. "You see, we managed to pay good old Grandpa a visit early this morning…"

Andrea didn't hear the rest, and didn't even care that she didn't. Shaw had opened the back door to the car, to reveal Patrick Gates sitting there, his wrists tied together, his face looking completely helpless.

Andrea felt the color that was left in her face drain. "Grandpa!" Pushing Ian aside, she rushed to the car door, reaching out to her grandfather.

Patrick looked relieved as Andrea approached him. "Andrea…" his eyes were misty. "…Andrea…I'm so sorry…I should have believed you…"

"Ben was the one you should have believed!" Andrea informed him, tears filling her eyes. "Now, I have no idea where he is and – "

"Save it!" Ian screeched and Andrea, in fear, stepped away from the car door, her body shaking. Breathing heavily, Ian reached into his pocket and drew a single device.

Andrea felt her heart skip a beat – a Taser. He was going to stun her to make her as helpless as her grandfather, and she, like her grandfather, would be held hostage. There was no point of running now – all that would do was lead her into a deeper and darker hole. Plus, she was too weak, she was sure to faint on her own if she ran…

"It was shockingly silly of you to run right into your own trap, Miss Morrison," Ian declared, laughing. "A clever girl like you should have known better! But…even the smart ones have their days, eh?"

"You can silence my body's actions," Andrea quoted bravely, despite the fact that her voice was wavering in fear, "but you can never silence my verbal actions."

"Save it for your autobiography, girl!" Ian pulled the trigger…

…And it hit her…she fell to the ground, immobilized…everything was getting dark…so dark, so dark…alone…

Blackness. Nothing but the dark.

* * *

**There you have it! PLEASE, if you read, please review! Do not fear the purple button!**


	10. Chapter 9: Without Andrea

**So here's Chapter Nine, which includes NO Andrea scenes, only mentions of her. There is a little bit of fluff, though, with Riley talking about her...not physical fluff, sorry. :)**

**But Chapter Ten will definetely make up for this chapter! And guess what! - thanks to you wonderful reviewers' pleas, Chapter Ten is chock-full of fluff! - both physical fluff and mental fluff! Mental fluff, being in my opinion, a person talking of someone in a romantic way.**

** You will all get the things you've been asking for! And I will hopefully post Chap. Ten soon, to make up for your long wait!**

**And without further ado, here is the lame Chapter Nine, lol.**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Without Andrea

Breathlessly, Ben trailed tiredly down the road. He had just narrowly gotten out of a chase with Phil, one of Ian's men – he had been after Ben, completely unaware of the bifocals Ben carried.

The first few notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony sounded; Ben yanked out his cell phone and pressed TALK for his incoming call. Pressing the phone to his ear, he began, "Riley. What happened? You guys okay?"

Riley's voice appeared nervous. "Well…we're in one piece, but, you see…I did two things that'll make me lose my job for sure."

Ben stopped in his tracks. "Oh?"

"Well…one, we lost it," Riley said in a rushed tone. "Ian's got the document."

Ben grimaced, but did his best to hide the frustration in his voice. "Um…okay…that does make me a little mad."

"You'll want to save your energy yelling at me for this next thing," Riley replied, his voice trembling. "You see…when Ian stole the Declaration, Andrea – bloody, bruised, and probably near unconsciousness – kinda went after him and –"

Ben's eyes grew wide and his heartbeat fastened. "She's been captured by him, hasn't she?"

Riley hesitated, but then continued, "Yeah, kinda." He paused once more. "I swear, Ben, we tried to follow her when she ran away, but…" His voice trailed off. "…I was really the one who tried to follow her, you see…and when I saw her disappear around a corner, I felt all weird inside…like Andrea would be okay, as if she had to prove herself or something…but now, I'm totally regretting not going after her."

"Riley, I think you've been watching too much Star Wars," Ben shot at him. But he did not feel the sarcasm intended in his comment – Ian had her, and ironically, right after the biggest quarrel they had ever had. Trying to retain all the calmness left in his body, he said, "Meet me at the car. There, we'll try to track Ian down."

"Gotcha, chief."

Ben clicked off the phone. Andrea had been kidnapped…his niece was gone…she was in the presence of Ian. No matter how he put it, each form sent chills up Ben's spine. He had failed at his job of being a guardian to Andrea – she was being held hostage. And then he remembered – Andrea's birthday. It was the thirty-first of July, and today was the twenty-eighth. _Some eighteenth birthday present this is, _he thought, as he turned the corner…

* * *

As Riley got off the phone with Ben, Abigail peered sideways at him. "Is what you said true? About getting this odd feeling about Andrea?"

Riley sighed heavily. "You know what? I really have no idea…everything has changed this summer between her and I…" He stopped, and glanced at Abigail with annoyance. "Why am I telling you this? You're the one that made Andrea all pissed at Ben, which led her to run right into Ian's trap."

"Riley," Abigail looked at him gently. "Don't be ashamed of all this. You're pretending that Andrea is only Ben's niece to you, but you know she means more than that to you. I can tell by the way you look at her."

Riley scowled, although his face was bright red. "Since when are you an expert on relationships – particularly mine, when I have known you for only a few days?"

"I'm not an expert, but I'm something like that," Abigail said as the two approached another street corner. "I grew up with five older siblings – I saw how they acted around their special someones."

"Andrea is not my special someone!" Riley protested. He sheepishly added, "…Yet."

"Exactly! Truthfully, I believe Andrea has the same feelings for you as you do for her. It's blatantly obvious by the way she teases you."

Riley shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know…for most of the time, that's always been the way we connected – she treated me like an older brother, I treated her like a little sister. It seems that we're too much of friends to have romance between us."

"When did you first show feelings for her?" Abigail placed a finger to her lip in question, and quickly added, "Sorry if I'm sounding too much like a guidance counselor."

Riley ignored her last comment, and looked away, appearing frustrated. "I don't care about how you're acting…now about telling you when I showed feelings for Andrea…" He groaned. "I have no idea…in the past year, probably. She was in her last year of high school and it finally occurred to me that she was old enough to be someone I'd date." He bit his lip. "And worse, even if I do happen to like her that way, I can't do it – I can't tell her how I feel."

"Yes, you can," Abigail proclaimed. "All you need is a boost of confidence."

"You don't understand, Abigail," Riley eyed her timidly. "It's not only Andrea I'm worried about telling – it's her whole family! There's Ben, and his parents, and a couple of cousins from Andrea's father's side. They're all so…_professional_…and _smart_. I mean, I've only met Ben's dad, of course, but I've heard of what the other Gates and Morrisons can do. I've never been the person who can blend in with intelligent people…it's just not what Pooles do. Those smart alecks just won't accept me." He stopped walking, and sighed once again. "This is getting ridiculous. I sound like a guy with no life rambling to you, don't I?"

"No…but all of this 'I'm-not-smart-enough' stuff is really coming from the man who hacked into the National Archives' security system?" Abigail said dryly. "Unbelievable."

Riley smiled uneasily. "How did you know that?"

"Ben told me."

Abigail and Riley rounded the corner, to face an astonishing sight. Riley gaped, "Funny you should mention Ben…"

For there he was, being pinned against his father's car, several FBI surrounding him, preparing to take him in for interrogation.

Ben caught side of the two from the corner of his eye, and gave them a quick, nodding gesture – a sign that said, "Get the hell out of here, and fast." Obediently, Abigail and Riley left the scene; leaving Ben in one of the two traps they had been avoiding this whole time.

* * *

About an hour later, Ben found himself in a Philadelphia police station, where the FBI agents had taken him for questioning. He had just finished telling the head agent, Sedusky, his story; when the agent withdrew from his pocket a photocopy of a snapshot.

"What's that?" Ben asked him.

Agent Sedusky snickered, "Something you'll be surprised to see…at the end of the interview."

Ben tilted his head in question, but did not go any further.

Sedusky leaned back in his chair. "Now, that's quite a story you've got there, Gates."

"It's the same story I tried to tell you before the Declaration was stolen."

"By you?"

"No, by Ian Howe," Ben said. "I stole it to stop him – Dr. Abigail Chase was not involved, Riley Poole only did it because he is my longtime intern and is a very loyal person…but Ian still ended up with the Declaration." He shook his head embarrassedly.

"There was a third person in this act, was there not?" Sedusky traced the outline of the photo he had laid on the table he and Ben were sitting at.

Ben fidgeted in his seat. "Yes - my seventeen-year-old niece, Andrea Morrison. And I fully understand that it was an irresponsible and foolish act to get her involved, with her technically still being a child."

"Ah…and where exactly are these three people known to have visited your father with you and come into Philly with you?"

Ben bit his lip, but bravely continued, "I don't know where Dr. Chase and Mr. Poole are. However…Andrea has been kidnapped by Ian."

Sedusky's eyebrows rose in concern. "Ah…so it appears as if Ian will be going into jail with you as well, for kidnapping and "supposedly" stealing the Declaration." He placed air quotes around supposedly in a sarcastic way.

"Jail?" Ben's voice cracked. "Agent Sedusky, there must be another option…"

Sedusky shook his head. "Sorry, Ben. There are only two doors for you to go through in this situation. Door number one – " He held up his ring finger. " – You go to prison for a very long time. Door number two – " A second finger was raised. " – We help you find the Declaration, Ian, and your niece, but you still go to prison for a very long time."

"There are no doors not leading to prison?"

"No."

"Oh," Ben's shoulders slumped, but then he smiled lightly. "You can't blame me for trying."

"Cute," Sedusky's face wrinkled. "Now, what about these?" He motioned towards the bifocals, which had been placed on the tabletop. "What do they do?"

"They help reveal a clue on the back of the document," Ben explained. "My partners and I discovered the clue just before we separated – heere at the wall, here spelt with two e's."

"That's it?"

"Yes, sir," Ben sighed heavily. "No more, no less. Just another clue."

"All right…and you said that you have not uncovered the clue's meaning yet."

Ben slightly flinched. That was a lie – on the ride to the police station, he had pondered over the clue and had solved the hidden meaning – Wall Street, in New York. But he really didn't know whether or not to tell the FBI, for he had a feeling that if he had figured out the clue, Abigail and Riley had too. He didn't want the FBI to trail after his friends, that was for sure.

"No," Ben fibbed. "I don't know what it means."

"Very good, Gates," Sedusky nodded. "You made it through the questioning process of this interview. And your prize –" He glanced at Ben in an odd way and motioned toward the photocopied snapshot he had taken out of his pocket. " – A glimpse at a little trinket I have here." He reached out and flipped over the photo, to reveal the picture Ben had taken himself almost eighteen years ago. It showed his sister and brother-in-law with an infant Andrea in Abigail Gates Morrison's lap.

Ben's breath quickened. "You raided my apartment."

"Yes."

"And stole the photo?"

"No, I found it, left it at your place, but then came back to take it to get photocopied. I then returned the original photo."

"And you did this because…?"

Sedusky reached back into his pocket and pulled out a frayed and yellowed photograph. In the picture, two teenagers – one an attractive, smiling, blonde girl, the other a scruffy-faced, brown-haired boy – were laughing with a smaller boy, a lake in the background of the picture. A date was scrawled in the corner of the photograph – June 20th, 1971.

Ben's eyebrows rose in realization. The teenaged girl in the photo was his sister Abigail, the younger boy himself at age nine. And the older boy was none other than Abigail's old childhood sweetheart…

"Pete Sedusky?" Ben queried in shock. "Old Peter Sedusky? Abigail's longtime boyfriend?"

"The one and only," Sedusky claimed. "I found this picture of Abigail and her child, and it made me remember her and make a connection to you." He snickered. "You could have been my brother-in-law."

Ben was quiet for a moment, but then spoke, "Is that you saying that you're letting me off easy?"

"Heck, no. It's me saying that the FBI is going to help you, me especially, but only because you're Abby's brother, and it's her daughter that's been kidnapped." Sedusky leaned back in his chair. "And if – if and only if – you prove that this Howe man was behind both of these crimes – kidnapping Andrea Morrison and stealing the Declaration of Independence – you will not go to jail."

Ben's eyes grew wide with gratefulness. "Thanks, Pete."

Sedusky scowled. "It's Agent Sedusky, Gates. We're not kids anymore."

"Right."

Just then, Ben's cell phone, which laid on the tabletop, rang and one of the nearby agents quickly hooked it up to a speakerphone. Sedusky pressed the TALK button on the cell phone, and Ian's voice then filled the room.

"Hello, Ben. How are you?"

"I'm chained to a desk," Ben said through gritted teeth. "Listen, Ian, if you've done anything to Andrea – "

"Calm down, Ben. She's fine – all of the bruises she's got were because of her own blunders. The girl's unconscious now…" Ian stopped to let out a snicker. "…But she'll eventually come to."

Ben bit his lip nervously, while Ian continued.

"Listen, meet me tomorrow at ten a.m. on the flight deck of the U.S.S Intrepid. It's in New York. And bring the glasses you found at Independence Hall – yeah, I know about them. We'll take a look at the Declaration, and you'll be on your way. You can keep the glasses when we're done, and I'll throw in the pipe from the Charlotte." Ian laughed. "Remember how that dimwit Poole lost it in the Artic airport? Shaw was there, undercover, and stole it while he was using the lavatory. Anyways, to all those FBI agents listening in…"

Sedusky and his team strained their ears to hear every word.

"…If you want the document back, I'd better find Ben at the dock alone. See you then."

And with a click coming from the other line, Ian was gone.

* * *

**I don't know if that counts as a cliffhanger, but if it does, I apologize for giving you guys so much lately! **

**Be prepared for the future! Chapter Ten will blow you away! ...Hopefully, hehe. I can't wait to see your reactions to it!**

**Please leave a review, and it'd really mean a lot to me if you visited my profile page and voted in the poll I have there, asking for story ideas. And feel free to check out my other stories, to see if anything interests you!**

**Thank you all again!**


	11. Chapter 10: New York City

**Behold, the chapter where everything changes!! The Fluffy Chapter!! And I warn you now, this fluff could possibly become cheesy after awhile, so you can blame me for disappointing you in a review - just use nice words ;)**

**Some thank-you notices must be announced: to hollyclaw, my great beta reader! To everyone who has reviewed this story - sorry, I'm too lazy to write out names, lol - ad everyone who has favorited and alerted it! **

**So, here it is! Hope it satisfies you guys! Oh, and if you're unaware about Chapter Nine or something - since I posted that yesterday - read it before this!**

* * *

Chapter Ten: New York City

She was flying…gracefully flapping her arms up and down…her hair shone gold in the sunshine, her locks being unusually under control. The light blue sundress she was wearing fluttered in the gentle breeze as she came to a soft landing in a green and beautiful meadow. Somewhere in the distance, the theme music from the ballet _Swan Lake_ played carelessly.

She smiled. It was so calming…so perfect…

"Andy! Andrea!"

She could hear her name being called from nearby, and she turned to catch the sight of a figure approaching her, dressing in nothing but jeans and cotton white socks. As the figure came closer, she realized that it was Riley. She found herself smiling again, and running to meet up with him. _Swan Lake _continued to play peacefully…

She could feel herself finally reaching Riley…she could see herself grinning at him and saying, "I knew you'd be here…"

He smiled back at her. "I'll always be here…always…"

Their lips suddenly met as the melody from _Till Then_, a love song from _1776_, began to play, _Swan Lake _having abruptly stopped.

_Till then…I am…as I ever was, and ever shall be…yours, yours, yours…_

His kiss was so sweet…so sweet…so loving…so perfect…it was not awkward at all – just perfect.

A clap of thunder boomed, and rain began to pour down from the sky. She could feel being pulled away from him by some invisible force…why was she leaving him? She didn't want to…that was the last thing she wanted to happen…

The meadow they were in turned black, and the color leaked out of the image. Her dress and hair colorless, Andrea tried to reach out to him, to grab him, to hold on…but she couldn't…something was telling her not to…his image was disappearing, quickly fading…

A heavy, overpowering Beatles song wafted through her ears as she screamed out his name, tears racing down her cheeks –

"God, Shaw, that's the last time we listen to one of your own CDs," A disgusted voice filled her head, and Andrea's eyes groggily and slowly opened.

Blinking timidly at her surroundings, she could see Ian and Shaw in the front seat of the car they were in, Ian having just ejected a CD out of the car's player. Ian shook his head at Shaw, "_Swan Lake, 1776, _and the Beatles? You actually like listening to all that?"

Shaw shrugged, his face turning red. "My mum burned the CD for me and chose all the songs."

Softly moaning, Andrea took in where she was as she rubbed her temples – she at first did not remember what had happened or where she was, but then it all came back to her. She had been a moron and chased after Ian to get back the Declaration…she had learned that Ian had Grandpa as a hostage…and then he had shot her with a Taser…leading to Ian and his cronies towing her away in their car, to who knows where.

Ian noticed her awake in the rearview mirror, and smirked at her. "Well, well, well, look who's up and about…you see, Gramps, she's all right."

Andrea jerked her head to her right side to see her grandfather there, his wrists still tied up. Patrick Gates had on a look of sheer relief, overjoyed that his granddaughter was once again conscious.

Andrea smiled weakly at him, and lifted her arms to give Grandpa a squeeze, but she couldn't. She discovered that her wrists had also been tied up; the rope gnawing into her badly bruised skin. Andrea shot a look up at Ian, "You'll pay for this, Howe."

"Of course I will, love," Ian said sarcastically. "As long as you have your lover boy by your side, you seem to be fine."

Andrea's cheeks flushed pink. "My what?"

Patrick Gates shot a sideways glance at her. "You were calling out the intern boy's name in your sleep…it was then when we found out that you were conscious again and were just napping."

"Oh, God…" Andrea sunk down into her seat, burning hot as she recalled her dream. It was a gorgeous day…she was in a meadow…Riley was there – no one else but the two of them. And they…they had kissed…she could just feel his bare skin wrapped around her, and she could still taste the way his lips felt. Oh, what was happening to her? She was falling in love with Riley Poole…but how? Why was she thinking about him more than Ben? Ben was the one she need to ponder about, wasn't he? But Riley…what had happened to him after she went after Ian? She ached to know of his whereabouts…if he was hurt or not…

This feeling was so odd. She had never seen Riley as more than a friend before – or had she? What about when he wrapped a protective arm around her in the Charlotte, when Ian broke out a gun? What had Andrea been thinking when that arm was around her? Or what about when he kissed her in front of the Franklin Institute? She had felt awkward then…almost as if she knew she likes him, and was too stubborn to admit it…

"Andrea?" Grandpa looked at her once more, concern in his eyes. "Are you all right? You look a little pale."

His granddaughter sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm fine, Grandpa. Just a little confused…"

Patrick nodded understandingly and began explaining to her, "We're in New York now. Mr. Howe up there has made plans to meet Ben at the deck of the U.S.S Intrepid tomorrow morning."

"Ian talked to Ben?" Andrea's heart leapt. "Where was he? Is he hurt?"

"The FBI's got him. From what I heard, he talked to Howe from a Philly police station."

Andrea bit her lip. "Great. Riley and Abigail are bound to be clueless without having Ben or I with them." She then realized that she had said Riley's name before Abigail's…

Grandpa chuckled at her comment. "Don't worry, hon. We'll get out of here somehow."

Andrea didn't want to say anything to her grandfather, but she personally believed that it'd be quite some time until she and Patrick reunited with Ben, Riley, and Abigail…

The van that the group was in then came to a sudden stop, and Andrea peeked out the window to see that they were in a Holiday Inn parking lot. Shaw immediately climbed out of the van, dashing across the lot to meet up with Phil and Victor, Ian's other men who had driven to the hotel in another car.

Ian, however, turned in his seat to face his prisoners. "My team and I are staying here for the night. You two will be sleeping in here."

"Here?" Andrea's voice croaked. "With no food?"

"There's some candy stashed away somewhere in here," Ian shrugged. "You'll survive." He had just opened the car door when his cell phone rang. Grumbling, he leaned back into the vehicle to reach into his pocket and yank out his Motorola. Upon reading the Caller ID, he scowled as he pressed the TALK button and put the phone up to his ear. "What do you want, Chase?"

"Chase?" Andrea queried softly, praying that her guess was right. "As in Abigail Chase?"

Ian shot a threatening look at her, but Andrea then knew that she was right. Abigail had been able to contact Ian, and the only way she could have done that was through Riley.

"Let me speak with her," Andrea slid to the edge of her seat and began smacking Ian's shoulder with her elbows, as she couldn't with her hands. "Please…"

Ian gave her another menacing look, and using his feet, Grandpa guided Andrea back into her seat.

Ian continued to nod as he listened to Abigail speak, and was just about to hang up with her when Andrea cried out pleadingly, "Let me speak to her!"

Patrick Gates glanced at Ian. "She won't shut up unless you let her talk."

Reluctantly, Ian shoved the phone between Andrea's shoulder and ear, so she could hold it on her own. Her head leaning to the side to hold the phone in place, Andrea said, "Abigail? Is that you?"

Abigail's voice sounded surprised. "Andrea? Yes…it's me…wait, you're all right? Ian hasn't tortured you into insanity?"

"I just came to awhile ago. My grandpa's here with me, Ian kidnapped him as well. But we're both fine." Andrea did her best to ignore Ian's impatient looks. "Look, Abigail, I'm so, so sorry about what I said back in Independence Hall, I really am."

"Well…I forgive you, I know things were a little awkward back there…"

"Listen, I don't mean to be rude, but is Riley there? I need to talk to him –"

"Sure, he's right here…"

There was a moment of silence on the other line as the phone was passed from Abigail to Riley. When Andrea heard Riley say hello, she could feel her heart soar and her cheeks turn pink. Stuttering, she replied, "Riley? It's me."

"Oh," Riley also sounded flustered and embarrassed. "Hi, Andy…"

"What was that phone call with Ian about?"

"It turns out that helping someone escape from FBI custody is a criminal act," Riley said, snickering. "Ian's the only criminal we knew, so we called him up and made a deal – I'm currently tracking you guys down with the GPS in his phone. If Ian decides to betray us, we can call the FBI and tell them right where you all are."

Andrea smiled to herself. It was so comforting listening to Riley talk in a technical way.

Riley's tone suddenly changed. With a softer and more concerned voice, he asked, "Um…are you all right? I swear, if Ian made you bleed more than you already were –"

Andrea's eyebrows rose in surprise at his threats to hurt Ian. Never had he stood up for her like that before… "I'm all right…a little sore, but I'll live."

"Good to know," Riley's voice still remained unusually soft.

Andrea's heart continued to flutter, and there was a moment of silence between them as they racked their brains for conversation topics. It then came into her mind – she had to tell him. She had to tell him of her sudden, new, strange, and wonderful feelings towards him – she realized that she had always loved him, but just didn't know it until this summer and this treasure hunt. That was the way it had always meant to be, wasn't it?

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth, praying that she wouldn't stutter nervously. "Riley…there's something I've been meaning to tell you." Her heart was beating so loud that she could barely hear herself speak.

"Yes?" His voice now had a curious, but wonderful air to it. "Go on."

"I – "

Ian growled at her. "Wrap it up, would you? You're costing me minutes."

Tears threatened to swim out of her eyes, and fighting them back, Andrea said into the phone, her voice wavering, "I…I need to go…I'm sorry." And with that, she lifted her chin and let the phone fall to the car floor. Now wasn't the time – she needed to think through some more things.

* * *

Around one a.m. the next morning, Andrea remained awake in Ian's van, staring blankly out the window while her grandfather slept. All night, she had reflected on her Riley situation, refusing to say anything to Grandpa. He was too old to be bothered with such things…there was no way he could help her through this. Come September, she'd be a freshman at NYU, and would have to learn to make mature decisions on her own for once. It was going to be hard, but she was willing to try it out.

What had the last part of her dream mean? She remembered that she was being separated from Riley, against her own will. Did that part have to do with her longtime abandonment issues? It possibly could have, as Riley might have suffered the same problems as a child.

She was never aware of how important he was to her. It was only until they were truly separated that Andrea realized how much she cared. Perhaps her sarcastic attitude around him was a sign of care and love. She could remember how she had always smiled after teasing Riley. She guessed that it was fun for her to see him blush.

Okay. It was official – she, Andrea Emily Morrison, loved him, Riley Jackson Poole. But…_why_? _How_? It was odd to say, but she felt that she – the history scholar, the blonde, and the straight-A student – was not worthy enough of him – the uncoordinated, computer junkie buffoon. Why? He had always been there for her – he was there when she broke her leg, got rejected by her first-choice college, and was dateless for the junior prom. What had she been there for? His Richter-scale-breaking burp at Ben's Super Bowl party last year? Heck, she didn't even know when his birthday was! Even worse, he had given her the newest edition of _History for Dummies _every year for her own birthday since she was sixteen!

Was love always this confusing? _If it is, then I don't want it, _Andrea thought sarcastically, as she turned over in her seat and did her best to fall asleep.

* * *

Bright and early at nine thirty a.m., Ian and his cronies made their way back to their cars, ready to fulfill the short drive to the dock of the U.S.S Intrepid. Andrea was still slumbering when the group began the drive, but as the van pulled up right outside the dock, she was jerked awake by the stopping motion. Groaning, she rubbed her head once more. It still ached from her being knocked out yesterday, and having Riley constantly on her mind didn't make things any better.

"You," Shaw turned back to face her harshly. "Get out."

Andrea, her vision still fuzzy from having just woke up, scowled, "Excuse me?"

Ian turned back as well. "You heard him. Get out. We'll need you today."

Andrea firmly folded her hands across her chest. "I'm not leaving my grandfather."

Patrick looked at her, surprised, while Ian rolled his eyes. "We're not going to hurt your beloved granddad. Just get out, or you'll have another encounter with the Taser."

That did it for her – in a blink of an eye, Andrea was unbuckled and was stepping out of the car. Ian came around from the other side of the vehicle and held out to her a scuba-diving suit. He grinned at her, "You know how to dive?"

Andrea glanced down at the suit, and then scoffed at Ian. "I'm a decent diver."

"Good," Ian nodded. "Then go into Victor's car and change into the suit."

"Why am I changing into something that'll make me feel hotter than an oven?"

"Shaw is going to meet Ben at the other side of the dock, and is going to tell him to jump overboard to reach me. You'll dive underwater when Ben jumps in, and will guide him over here."

Andrea frowned. "So, I'm just the fish hook in this situation…that's what you mean, isn't it?"

Ian smiled. "Clever girl."

"Will I able to stay with Ben after I bring him to you?"

Ian's eyes glinted. "Of course."

"All right. You've got yourself a deal."

And with that, the two shook on it – easy as pie.

* * *

Andrea quickly ducked into one of the villain's empty cars to discard of her overalls and Nikes for a divers' suit and oxygen tank. She felt a surge of eagerness in her system – she was going to see her uncle again, and could finally apologize for what she had said to him, and sooner or later, she'd be with Riley again, and would have nothing but time to discuss about their relationship.

Hobbling out of the car and heading over to the ladder leading into the water, she placed on her swim goggles and hooked up her oxygen tank. Lowering herself into the ocean, she submerged for a minute or two to warm up to the water's temperature. When her head rose from the water, she caught sight of Ian motioning to Shaw to make his way to the other, more crowded side of the dock. Dressed as a tourist with a backwards Yankee cap and a video-camera in hand, Shaw dashed over to the other side, ready to approach Ben when the time came

Andrea's heart was practically leaping out of her chest. Everything was going to be all right – she'd get to hug Ben, to laugh with him, and be happy once more, and then, Riley would be there…oh, to see Riley again…it was amazing how quick how love could act.

Across the Hudson River, a splash was heard, and Andrea's attention snapped back up to the other side of the river to see two men, who had to be undercover FBI agents, rush to the barrier between the water and the dock. Andrea held back a laugh as the men peered cautiously down at the water Ben had just jumped into. The men glanced at each other, eyes wide, neither seeming to want to jump in.

Ian kicked her back with his feet. "Go! Get him!"

Andrea obediently dove underwater, to find the Hudson dark, grimy, and very unclear. But yet, even through the murkiness, she could spot a figure swimming nearby. Her golden hair floating behind her, she doggy-paddled over to the figure, tapping him on the back when she neared him.

Ben swung around cautiously, and his mouth almost opened in shock at the sight of his niece. The goggles covered her eyes, but he'd recognize that hair anywhere.

Smiling through her rebreather, Andrea waved joyfully at him and took a hold of his arm, guiding him to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. As the two surfaced, Ben began coughing up water, but grinned brightly when he faced Andrea again.

"Andrea…" His voice trailed off as he hugged his niece, diving suit and all.

Andrea squeezed him back, her smile never faltering. "Uncle Ben, it's so good to see you!" She let go of him to face him again. "I'm so incredibly sorry for every cruel thing I said to you back in Philadelphia…I honestly don't know what happened to me."

Ben stroked her wet hair, chuckling. "Oh, honey, you know I'll forgive you. I'll love you no matter what you do."

Andrea beamed even more, her eyes beginning to tear up – or, who knows, it could just be the water on her face – and sighed heavily. "Thank you."

Ian appeared at the edge of the dock, snickering. "Ah, family reunion. How touching." He smiled coyly at Andrea's uncle. "Hello, Ben. Welcome to New Jersey."

Ben's smile faded at the sight of his rival. "Ian."

"Come along now, both of you. Get out, you don't want to catch a cold."

"Since when are you so concerned about others' health, Ian?" Andrea said icily as she climbed out of the Hudson, her scuba suit sticking to her skin.

"No, I'm not," Ian shot back. His attention then went back to Ben. "All right, I'm going ahead to our meeting spot on my own. Shaw and Victor are going to take you there." He turned away, climbed into the van where Patrick Gates was, and drove off, leaving Ben in a state of shock.

"He just takes off like that?" Ben questioned, talking more to himself than Andrea.

Shaw snickered. "Who cares? Right then, Gates, hop in." He opened the passenger door to a nearby Cadillac.

Ben began to make his way towards the car, but Andrea hesitated. "What about me?" Her eyebrows rose in confusion. "Ian said that I could stay with Ben after I brought him here."

"You really expected someone like Ian to keep his promise?" Shaw stuck his head back into his car and came out with the bundle of Andrea's clothes. Tossing them at her, Shaw stepped forward to grab a hold of Ben and force him into the car. Ben did his best to fight Shaw back, but it was no use. Just as Shaw began to close the passenger door on Ben, Andrea's uncle called out to her, as calmly as ever, "Remember – heere at the wall!"

Throwing her clothes down onto the dock, Andrea also abandoned her oxygen tank before chasing after the retreating car. But like Ben being forced into Shaw's car, it was no use. It was simply impossible to run in a soaked scuba suit. Helplessly, she fell behind the moving vehicle, once again left behind by her uncle, only this time, not because of something she had said.

Instead of breaking down crying like she had seemed to do more than often nowadays, Andrea kept her chin up and thought about what Ben had said to her while departing – _heere at the wall_. After pondering over the four-word sentence, she knew she had cracked it, and with no glance back, she scooped up her clothes and headed off to the nearest ladies' room to change.

* * *

On the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway was an Internet café, and in that café were Riley and Abigail, Riley glued to a computer, and Abigail with a cell phone pressed to her ear. The café, mildly crowded, had a jukebox in the corner, a medley of Beatles songs currently playing.

Abigail had reached Ben, who was being driven to the intersection by Shaw, on the phone. "Simple clue to find out if you thought about it – heere at the wall, Wall Street and Broadway…yes, Ian's right across the street from where we are…"

Riley had been checking in on his "Ian" tracking system on a nearby computer, his eyes glued to the screen, but his mind elsewhere. Where could she be? If she wasn't with Ben, where was she?

He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't hear the door to the café open, and he didn't hear the squeaky and soggy Nike sneakers enter the building.

Abigail was the one who drew him out of the clouds. She had gasped when she saw that certain person enter the store, and had nearly dropped the phone. But then, beaming, she held the phone back up to her ear and softly said into it, "Don't worry…she just walked in. She's all right."

And that was what caused Riley to finally look away from his computer.

There Andrea was, gold hair wet and in soggy clumps, her bright green shirt and faded denim overalls both having turned dark by the amount of water dripping onto them. She appeared tired, and the bruises on her arms were more than visible. But her eyes said it all – glowing radiantly, lovingly, anxiously, and eagerly at none other than Riley.

Suddenly breathless, Riley slowly rose from his seat. Sensing that she was not wanted there, Abigail quickly headed to the back of the store, to "browse" through the café's drink selections. Not even noticing Abigail's absence, Riley approached Andrea, who had begun to tear up at the sight she had been waiting so long to see – as cheesy as it sounded, it was completely true.

Beyond relieved that he was as elated to see her as much as she was to see him, she knew she couldn't hold back any longer. A smile breaking upon her face, she rushed right into his arms, tears racing down her cheeks. Riley laughed as he flung her arms around her, also beaming.

Andrea broke from the hug to face him fully. "I knew you'd be here." She was mainly referring to the Internet café, but they both knew she meant so much more.

Riley stroked her head. "I'll always be here."

And with that, just as _All You Need is Love _began to play on the jukebox, their lips met for the first time – it wasn't in a dream, or an accident…

…It was all real.

* * *

**Please leave a review!**


	12. Chapter 11: Trinity Church

**Oh my gosh...I am SO sorry for the almost one-month wait on an update! May has been a super busy month for me, with Communions, Mock Trial events, Field Days, etc., etc. But here it is finally is - Chapter Eleven, the mark to the near end of the story. I expect maybe one more chapter, plus an epilogue, which I have already written out. This chapter is probably my worst...I found it very hard to write about Andrea in this chapter...so please forgive me if she sounds like a Mary Sue!**

**hollyclaw, I sent you this chapter, and I'm updating before you send corrections because another busy chunk of my life is approaching, and I want to get this up before that chunk begins. If there are corrections, I'll simply edit the chapter. Thank you so much for all you have done for this story! **

**I just found out today that this story was added to ****lightning8star****'s C2, "My Favorite Archives". Lightning8star, I don't know if you're reading this, but thank for adding this! It makes me feel very honored!**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter Eleven: Trinity Church

Just moments after their big, Hollywood-like reunion, Andrea and Riley sat at a table in the Internet café, sharing an iced coffee with two straws. They couldn't stop smiling at each other – what had just happened was so unreal, but so perfect, as if it was meant to be. Nothing could dim their spirits.

"It was odd," Andrea admitted to Riley, holding his hand underneath the tabletop. "Well…not really odd…just…"

"Unexpected?" Riley finished for her.

"Exactly," Andrea nodded, grinning. "When Ian took me, everything changed. I realized how much I missed you and cared for you when you weren't with me…I guess it was because there were rare times in your employment to Ben when you weren't there for me." She laughed, the sunlight glistening on her head. "That sounded so scripted, didn't it?"

Riley laughed too. "No, it sounds fine. But the freaky thing is that…that was how I felt months ago. Only recently was when I was sure I liked you and tried to "make a move". I mean, the kiss outside the museum…I doubt that was really an accident. It might have been my system telling me to just go for it…" His voice trailed off, and he appeared lost in the moment, lost in her, and lost for words.

Andrea noticed it. Smiling, she placed a finger on his lips, quieting him. "Riley," her eyes continued to shine, "we don't have to talk about all of this now. We have all summer – all the time we need." She took a sip of coffee before continuing. "And don't worry about my family not approving you. Ben already does, and if he does, my grandparents will. And my cousins know that as long as I'm happy, they'll be happy for me."

Riley chuckled. "That's a relief." He glanced at her. "This doesn't mean you'll stop throwing negative comments at me, does it? Because the sarcasm makes you pretty attractive, as weird as that sounds."

That made her laugh right out loud, and once again, she was with the same old Riley she had known since she was fifteen – the Riley she had come to love.

Abigail popped out of nowhere, as it seemed to Andrea, and sat herself down at the table Andrea and Riley were at. "I just got off the phone with Ian," she said aggrievedly. "He and Ben are heading over to Trinity Church. A clue on the document that they found through the bifocals led them to it." She let out a sigh, and Andrea then noticed that Abigail's eyes were misty. Andrea then realized that Abigail was scared of the upcoming event – she was scared for Ben, scared for herself, and most importantly, scared of what would become of her relationship with Ben.

Andrea was drawn out of her thoughts by Abigail's voice. "Shaw's coming to escort us over there." Abigail's voice choked as tears emerged at the bottom of her eyes. "Ian said that…we'd better not try anything funny…he has a gun…" Abigail trailed off, beginning to breathe heavily as tears rolled quickly down her cheeks. "He'll shoot if he has to…"

Silently, Andrea reached out her free hand and laid it on top of Abigail's frail, white one. "Abigail…" Andrea began, trying to search for the right words. "I know you're afraid, but"

"It's not just that," Abigail shook her head stubbornly, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Ian is going to hurt us. He'll harm one of us, I just know it. He already took you away, but you're not who he wants. He wants to hurt Ben. Ian wants to kill him or do something else horrific, so he can take all of the treasure for himself. Ben was always his bait to the glory…"

Riley's eyebrows were knit. "That's pretty deep for someone who doesn't even know when Ben's birthday is or what political party he's part of."

Abigail laughed through her tears, but then just looked back down at the table, eyes red.

"Abigail, stop this," Andrea said firmly. "You know you're not the only one scared of what may happen. I'm scared too. Ben has been my fatherly figure for my whole life. It'd be unnatural for me not to be afraid. But…things are different with you. You've only known Ben for awhile…" The corners of her mouth turned up slightly to form a small smile. "…But yet, you're different from any of the women Ben has dated in the last ten years."

Abigail looked at her, confused. "Is that a compliment?"

"Totally," Andrea assured. "You should have seen the chick that he only dated because she was one of my mom's old friends. She had a unibrow and dyed red hair."

"This isn't helping me, Andrea."

"Look," Andrea sighed. "Let me just get to the point. I know that you and I haven't been all buddy-buddy this whole time, but that whole time, when I supposedly hated you…I was observing the way you treated Uncle Ben and how Ben saw you. You've made him happier than I've ever seen him, Abigail." Andrea could feel her eyes growing misty. "And…it's all right if you're romantically interested in him…because…" She then turned back to Riley and beamed at him, squeezing his hand. "Now that I've been shown how unexpected and wonderful love is…I've realized that Uncle Ben deserves what I now have." She shared yet another smile with Abigail. "I officially call a truce between us."

The two women glanced at each other awkwardly for a moment, but then, both giggling childishly, hugged the other. Having been forgotten, Riley pretended to wipe away a tear. "Ah. Such a Kodak moment."

Andrea and Abigail laughed once more. The trio's happiness soon dissolved, for Shaw had burst into the Internet café, apparently trying to blend in as much as possible. But what was left of his "camouflage" disappeared when he spotted Andrea, Riley, and Abigail at their table. Grinning mischievously, he approached them, hand shoved in his pocket. Andrea couldn't help but think if that hand was there to guard a gun…

"All right," Shaw said to them through gritted teeth, "you three. Get up – now."

Their hearts leaping with sudden fear, the three rose from their table rapidly, immediately being led outside by Shaw. Andrea and Riley's iced coffee laid abandoned on the tabletop. The storekeeper, who had just poked his head out from the storeroom at that moment, bore raised eyebrows at his only customers' rushed departure…

* * *

Shaw led Ben's treasure-hunting team to Trinity Church with a hurried and threatening tone. When the door to the church creaked open, Andrea pushed past Shaw to rush inside the sanctuary, to find Ben and Ian standing up near the altar, and her grandfather sitting in a pew, two of Ian's cronies by his side. After shooting a reassuring look at her uncle, Andrea sat herself down besides Patrick Gates. "Grandpa! Are you all right?"

Patrick scowled at her. "What do you think? I'm a _hostage_."

"Grandpa…stop acting that way. Everything's going to be all right…"

"I told you, Andrea," Patrick protested. "I'm too old for all of this treasure hunting. You and Ben dragged me into this, and it's your fault that I'm here."

Andrea felt a sharp pain fly through her body. Never had her grandfather spoken to her with such sarcasm and hatred. Although this adventure seemed to bring herself and Ben closer, it now appeared to be destroying her relationship with Grandpa. So much – almost too much – had occurred over just a few days…

Riley and Abigail slid into the pew then. Riley slipped his hand into Andrea's, muttering to her, "It looks like a safe environment. You think they could pull a gun on us here?"

Andrea snickered at the comment and whispered back, "They're mean, but they're not mean." She tightened her grip on his hand. "Just in case, though, be ready to bust some moves."

Ian's stingy, Australian-accented voice broke the two's conversation. "Parkington Lane? Why would the map lead us here, and then somewhere else?"

"Just another clue," Patrick Gates murmured under his breath, shaking his head in denial.

"Grandpa…" Andrea gave his arm a squeeze, and then stood to join Ben and Ian at the altar. "Look, Parkington Lane has to be somewhere around here. Let's just check all of the tombstones here" She motioned towards the several death memorials over to the side. "And see what we can find."

Ben nodded in agreement, and before Ian could protest, he and Andrea made a dash for the tombstones together. Patrick, Riley, and Abigail were allowed to join Ben, Andrea, and Ian's gang in the search. Just as she was about to start scouting the premises, she caught out of the corner of her eye Abigail approaching Ben with a choked voice, "I'm so sorry…"

Ben reached out to touch her shoulder in a sympathetic, but longing way. "It's not your fault."

Making herself scarce during their romantic moment, Andrea joined up with Riley at one of the tombstones. "Found anything yet?"

Riley was staring dumbfounded at the tombstone he was in front of. "Tell me what this says."

Andrea squinted to read the faded letters on the stone, her eyes then widening in realization. "Exactly what we're looking for."

Riley chuckled to himself in disbelief. "Are you saying that I actually found a clue? The technology-obsessed sidekick found a clue?"

Andrea mockingly shoved his shoulder. "Stop acting so modest!" She turned to everyone else. "Guys! Over here!"

The group queued around the tombstone, Ben and Ian positioning themselves towards the tombstone. A light of eagerness spread through Ben's eyes as he read the tombstone. "Parkington Lane…he was a third-degree master Mason of the - HEY!!" Ben was suddenly pushed aside by Victor, who smashed open the tombstone with a powerful-looking hammer. Just as the tombstone was destroyed, a rotten, molding skeleton slid out of the little passageway the tombstone had been blocking. Everyone took a startled step back.

"Okay…" Still-frightened Riley's eyes were shaped like grapes. "Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?"

"McGregor, Victor," Ian acknowledged two of his sidekicks. "You two stay here. If anyone should come out without me…" He paused, taking a moment to glance at Ben, Abigail, Andrea, Riley, and Patrick all separately. "…Use your imagination." He gave a smirk that sent chills down Andrea's spine.

Ben was the first to muster enough bravery to crawl into the tunnel. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and grabbed a cobwebbed torch from the wall. Lighting the torch, he pressed himself against the wall. "Come on. Nothing life-threatening yet."

Ian strutted forward, climbing in and not even hesitating to snatch Ben's lighter from him and light another torch. He began venturing further into the tunnel, not bothering to wait for the others to catch up with him.

As Shaw led her grandfather into the tunnel, Andrea realized that her feet were practically rooted to the ground. It was almost as if everything that had happened before this point was just a game, and now, the reality had kicked in, and she knew that things were no longer a game. Lives were at stake now…when would all of the risks and frights come to an end?

Riley placed a hand on her shoulder. "Andy? Are you okay?"

Andrea did her best to shake off her faint and apprehensiveve feelings. "Yeah…I'm fine." Not wanting to explain anything, she scrambled into the tunnel, Riley going in after her, with Abigail and Shippen at the rear of the procession.

She passed by Ben, and glanced deeply into his eyes. They held no nervousness, but just the eagerness that she had seen in them minutes before. Biting her lip, Andrea flung her arms around him and buried her face in his shirt. "I just want it to be over, Uncle Ben."

Ben rubbed her back with his free hand. "Sweetie, we're going to find this treasure. And when we do" He broke from the hug to smile at her. "You're going to wish all of this wasn't over."

From behind her, Riley added in, "You really wish that all of this would end?" He smirked playfully as he squeezed her hand once again. "Or that it never happened?"

Andrea turned to smile weakly at him. Ben glanced down suspiciously at the two's intertwined hands, but then nodded approvingly. "I should have known it was going to happen soon enough."

Andrea and Riley laughed softly, and Andrea flashed another smile at Ben before continuing. "Thanks, Uncle Ben."

The two began to follow the others to the end of the tunnel, but both suddenly heard a cry from Ben. "Come here, you!"

Andrea yanked around her head just to see her uncle pull Abigail into a passionate embrace, their lips meeting in a PG-defying way. Andrea could just feel her smile take over her face, and pumped her fist into the air. "All right, Uncle Ben!"

Ian snapped from the end of the tunnel, "Can we save the hooking up for later, Gates? I think we've found what we're looking for down here!"

The smiles evaporated, and slowly, the four people at the end of the line, plus Shippen, all filed further into the tunnel, no clue of what was about to occur.

* * *

**Bad ending right there...I am truly sorry if this chapter stunk! **

**And also, I need ideas for a sequel to this story. The poll on my profile page stated that four people wanted a sequel taken place during Book of Secrets. I've been wanting to do this, but it just seems almost impossible to write Andrea into the story. And I'm also confused on what type of romance to include in it. Half of me wants to keep the Andrea/Riley thing going on, the other wants to destroy it, but to have it brought back at the end of the story. But that seems so stereotypical, since BoS has a bunch of quarreling couples in it, from Ben and Abigail to Emily and Patrick. Please leave a review on what ideas you have for a sequel! I'd really appreciate it!**


	13. Chapter 12: One Step Closer

**Hey, everybody! Here is Chapter Twelve, the second to last chapter. I will include a Chapter Thirteen, and an epilogue. Thanks for all of the support, guys. This story has 18 favorites and 30 alerts. I'm posting this because I have exams next week, and want to give you a long chapter before I must take a small hiatus from writing every day. **

**As for discussion on the sequel: I'm doing my best to write one up, and I started a bit of the prologue for that today in school. I have a poll up on my profile page about what types of romance to include in my version of Book of Secrets, which obviously involves Andrea. Go and check the poll out if you can! Vote as well! I'll probably merge a bunch of the poll options into my story - I already have two romances in mind, and one of them is slightly AU. But you'll have to wait awhile to find out about those romances! :)**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: One Step Closer

Ben, Andrea, Abigail, and Riley worked their way down the tunnel to join Ian and his gang at the end of it. The darkness grew as they ventured further into the hole, and Ben, who pushed past everyone to get in the front of the group, called back, "Watch your step. There's a piece of floorboard missing here." He jumped over the hole in the floor, Ian following him.

Patrick and Shaw jumped over next, and Andrea, Riley, Abigail, and Shippen reared it up. Finally, the group emerged in an immensely large room. They stood on a balcony, which faced a humongous chandelier and several sets of rickety stairs. Andrea's breath quickened as the whole group huddled in front of the balcony's railing, staring unbelievably at the ruins they had uncovered.

Ben, leaning out to light a torch hanging on the chandelier, broke the silence. The fire spread to the other torches, the light revealing even more sets of stairs, plus an elevator system that looked as if it'd fall apart any second.

"Just look at all of this," Andrea breathed. "It's a dumbwaiter system…"

Shippen shook his head in disbelief. "How do a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?"

Riley's eyes were as wide as grapes and as a glazy as a Krispy Kreme doughnut. "The same way they build the pyramids and the Great Wall of China…the aliens helped them."

Andrea fought back a giggle. Leave it to Riley to crack a joke in a life-changing moment.

Ian had had enough sightseeing. He stepped away from the railing impatiently. "Right then, let's go. What are we waiting for?" He nodded towards the closet set of steps.

Patrick Gates stubbornly shook his head. "I'm not going out on that thing – two hundred years of termite damage means a quick death."

Andrea stepped forward. "Grandpa…do what he says." She gave him a look that reminded her grandfather of the conditions Ian put both Patrick and Andrea through earlier that morning.

Patrick bit his lip and glanced hesitantly at her, but reluctantly stepped down onto the first step. The floor creaked threateningly as his shoe touched it. Andrea gave him a gentle shove, and he continued, his granddaughter following him. The group started to proceed down the stairs, silently, as if they were in a funeral procession.

A sudden rattling from above stopped the group in their tracks as they looked above with pale faces. As the shaking came to an end, Ian sighed with relief. "It's just the subway."

Their heart rates begin at a normal beat once again, but it was not like that for long. Almost the second they stepped forward to continue walking, a floorboard broke under the weight of Shaw. Almost as if the following were in slow motion, Shaw began falling…screams erupted…and Shaw's hand tugged at Andrea's arm, as she was right in front of him. She could feel herself leaning back to fall as well, but Ben quickly reached out and grabbed her out of Shaw's grip. Barely seeing straight, she could just see Shaw flying back first into the never-ending darkness – the lives were starting to be lost from here on.

There was then no time to catch a breath, for the rest of the floorboards the group were on top of creaked. It jerked downwards, and the group hurriedly rushed to safety. Riley and Abigail leapt over to the nearest stable staircase, whilst Ian and Shippen jumped over to the elevator, Ian pulling Patrick over with him. Andrea and Ben had been too slow, and still remained on the floorboard as it slanted over. Ben nearly fell off the side, but his niece was quick to press him against her side. Both breathless and holding onto each other for dear life, Ben held the document holder out to Riley and Abigail. "Here"

But he could not toss the holder over to them. Their floorboard gave out, and the two fell off, landing on another elevator, which almost immediately shot down as their weight was thrown upon it. Their screaming was at the top of their lungs as the elevator crashed against a staircase, causing itself to also slant over. Andrea was practically in hysterics and felt dizzy…as if she was about to have an emotional breakdown…she couldn't even think straight when she was thrown to her feet and found her body slipping off the side. Snapping out of her daze, she clutched the rotten floorboard with her quaking, sweaty hands. Ben rushed to the side, his body now in fear of falling. He reached his hand out, and although she doubted doing it, Andrea let go of the floorboard with one hand and grasped Ben's.

The floorboard swung from side to side at first, about to fall any second. Only Patrick's cries of plea could be heard, as he yelled to Ian, "Get down there, get down there!"

Tears were now streaming down Andrea's face. Her nightmares were about to come true – she was going to come to her death after being abandoned…just how things were after her parents died. Uncle Ben couldn't hold on forever, and he had stronger legs and had a better chance of jumping over to a stable staircase before the strings of their elevator broke. He wouldn't save her…

"Andrea!" Riley's voice broke her bubbling thoughts. She could now see that the Declaration holder had slid off of Ben's shoulder when he plopped down on his stomach to grab her hand. The case was now rolling back and forth from the side, at as much risk of falling as Ben and Andrea had.

Andrea snapped her glance over to Ben. "The Declaration."

Ben was sweating, and breathing heavily. "Andrea, do you trust me?"

The tears came on even stronger than before. "Uncle Ben, I can't-"

"Andrea," Ben spoke with a firm voice. "Do you trust me?"

She could hear a wail erupting in her throat. Her vision misting, she nodded before her cries of protest could ring out. Ben let go of her white hand, and she shut her eyes as she felt herself fall. If they ever found her body at the bottom of the tunnel, it would be less disturbing if her eyes were closed. But instead of a death-causing crunch, she heard a loud creak as her body crashed against a floorboard. Creaking open her eyes, she found herself inches away from where Riley and Abigail were, their eyes round and full of shock.

Andrea jerked her head above to where Ben was – she watched with held breath as Ben snatched up the Declaration holder and leapt off the elevator, landing face first on the same floorboard she was on. The two watched in terror as the floorboard they were on merely seconds ago broke away from its strings and fell down into the darkness below.

Quivering as her tears began soaking her clothing, Andrea wept more as she flung her arms around Uncle Ben. "I was so afraid – with my abandonment issues…I thought I was going to have a panic attack…"

"Shh…" Ben soothed her, rubbing her back gently. "I'm sorry. I had to – to save the Declaration –"

Andrea broke away from their hug to face him, her eyes red. "I understand. I would have dropped you too."

"I would have dropped you both," Riley scoffed as he came up behind them with Abigail. "Freaks."

Andrea couldn't help it. She then reached over to hug Riley, pecking his cheek quickly. "I thought you'd understand," she muttered into his ear. "About the abandonment stuff."

Riley smiled at her, stroking her wet cheek. "I think that deep down, I do."

Andrea grinned back, and clutched his hand. She was wrong. Everything would be okay. Uncle Ben knew what he was doing…

"Get on!"

But did Ian know? Andrea bit her lip to keep herself from yelling at the villain as the elevator he, Shippen, and Grandpa were in made its way down towards them.

"Ian," Ben wrapped his now-bleeding arm around Abigail, and laid the other arm on his niece's shoulder. "…It's not worth it."

"Do you imagine any one of your lives being more valuable to me than Shaw's?' Ian shot at him. "We go on – no one stays behind."

"The status quo, son," Patrick muttered out loud, his comment directed towards Ben. "Keep the status quo."

Ben finally nodded. "Fine. We go on." He pushed Andrea quietly onto the elevator, Riley climbing aboard after her. Abigail followed, and Ben gave Ian a last reproachful look before climbing one as well.

The men handled the elevator so it rolled downstairs to a single floorboard, which lead through a door into a medium-sized room. "This is where it all leads," Ben explained as the elevator came to a stop. "Let's go."

They got off of the elevator in single file. Ben pushed aside the cobwebs in the door, and led the group through the entryway. He lit the two torches in this strange room, and then stepped aside to let everyone else come in.

The seven people surveyed the room – it was dusty, grimy, and most importantly…empty. Everyone looked upon the room in shock, bewilderment, and confusion. Finally, Shippen spoke, "So…where's the treasure?"

Ben was running his hand against one of the molding walls. He was silent, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"Uncle Ben?" Andrea didn't want to admit it, but it seemed as if everyone they had done…was pointless. "…Is this it? A dead end?"

Ben sighed, suddenly looking ten times older. "Yes. Apparently, we did."

"There has to be something else," Riley assured. "There has to! Another clue or-"

"No!" Ben's voice echoed throughout the room. "No, Riley, there's no more clues! That's it, okay? It's over! End of the road! The treasure's gone – moved – somewhere else…" He groaned, running his hand through his hair. He kept shaking his head, as if he still didn't believe it himself…

"You're not playing games, are you, Ben?" Ian snapped. "You know where it is."

"No." Ben shook his head. "I swear I don't."

"You're lying," Ian drew his hand into his pocket, and everyone took a step back when he pulled out a gun. Threateningly, he pointed it at Ben, but then jerked it towards Andrea. "Miss Morrison over here knows."

Her heart pounding, Andrea slid behind Ben. "Ian, I don't either!"

"If you say so," Chuckling lightly, Ian shoved the gun back into his pocket and then turned towards Shippen. "Let's go." Wordlessly, he and his sidekick began heading back towards the elevator.

"Hey!" Andrea stepped back in front of Ben. "Ian!"

Andrea, Ben, Riley, Abigail, and Patrick all rushed out of the room, following Ian and Shippen. Ben yelled out, "Ian, you can't do this!"

"You can't just leave us here!" Abigail protested.

"Yes, I can," Ian said as Shippen pulled the elevator several inches upward. "Unless Ben finally tells me what's the next clue."

"There's not another clue, Ian!" Ben shot at him.

"Ian, why can't we just talk about this?" Andrea wailed. "Arguing is not the way to go."

Ian withdrew his gun again. "Listen, girl, I've just about had it with you –" Someone gasped as he began to pull the trigger.

"The clue, Ben," Ian threatened. "Where's the treasure? I almost shot your niece before…I can do it with fatal consequences now."

Ben shook his head, completely helpless.

"Uncle Ben!" Andrea called out. Why couldn't he lie? Didn't he see that Ian wasn't joking around?

Her grandfather, however, could see her desperation. "The lantern."

Ben's eyes flicked over to Patrick. "Dad."

"The status quo has changed, son," the old man replied. "Can't you see? Andrea's at risk of being hurt." He turned back to Ian. "It's part of Freemason teachings. In King Solomon's temple, there was a winding staircase. It signified the journey that had to be made to find the light of truth."

Andrea then realized what Grandpa was trying to do. Jumping in, she added from the top of her head, "The lantern is the clue."

Ian raised a questioning eyebrow. "And what does it mean?"

"Boston," Andrea said with a straight face. "The Old North Church in Boston, where Thomas Newton hung a lantern in the steeple."

Patrick continued, "And that light was to signal Paul Revere that the British were coming. One if by land –"

"-Two if by sea." Andrea finished. "One lantern. We have to look under the winding staircase for the treasure."

Ian nodded. "Thank you, Gramps, Miss Morrison." He nodded towards Shippen, who began moving the elevator upwards.

"Hey!" Patrick called out. "You have to take us with you."

Ian smirked. "Why would I do that? So you can escape in Boston? Besides-" He chuckled. "With you five out of the picture, there's less baggage to carry."

"What if there's another clue?" Ben quietly retorted.

"Then I'll know right where to find you." Ian claimed. The elevator sped up. "See you."

As the elevator began to move further and further up, the five yelled out their protests. "There's no other way out! You'll need us! Come back!"

A threatening bullet came flying down from the elevator, and the group ducked to avoid it. As it landed on the wooden floor, Riley announced glumly, "We're all going to die."

Andrea sighed. "Way to be positive, Mr. Sunshine." She then smiled. "And no one's going to die."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "What? But…"

"Everything will be fine," Ben said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Riley." He turned to race back into the empty room. "But everything is okay."

Abigail questioningly followed him. "All right, what's going on? The British came by sea – it was two lanterns, not one."

The three family members – Ben, Andrea, and Patrick – were now scanning the room more closely. Patrick glanced back at her casually. "Ian needed another clue."

Andrea studied one of the walls up close. "So we gave one to him."

"It was a fake," Riley said, catching on. "A fake clue!"

"That's right," Ben was tracing a fading painting of an eye on a wall. "…The all seeing eye…through the all seeing eye…"

Andrea peered at her uncle curiously. He had a hunch, she knew it. But what did the all seeing eye have to do with anything?

Riley was still focused on the phony information Patrick and Andrea had given Ian. "That means…by the time Ian figures it all out and comes back here, we'll still be trapped and…" His voice trailed off in horror. "He'll shoot us then. We're still going to die."

Ben was brushing dirt off of a figure below the wall with the eye. "No one's going to die." He looked back at the figure and smiled. "There's another way out."

"Where?" Abigail approached his side to look at the figure Ben was observing.

Andrea grinned. She now knew what Ben had been suspecting. "Through the treasure room."

Ben pressed down on a button by the figure, and the wall he was standing in front of jerked open. The group gasped happily. Ben handed his torch to Andrea, and Patrick gave his to Riley, as the two stepped forward to push the wall all the way open. They succeeded, and taking back their torches, Ben and Patrick led the crowd into the next room.

* * *

**Please leave a review! Reviews are what gets my adrenaline pumping and my mind creating tons of ideas for the next chapter! And in most cases, they'd mean a quicker update, but I'll be busy next week, so don't count on an update soon.**


	14. Chapter 13: It is Found

Chapter Thirteen: It is Found

It was smaller than the first room, and slightly darker. Broken vases lay on the floor, and empty shelves stood dusty and falling apart.

Andrea took in the surroundings. "Looks like someone got in here first." But…someone couldn't have! How could they have done it? No one had the resources they had had…

Abigail hesitated. "I'm sorry, Ben."

Ben stared in disbelief at the emptiness. "It's gone."

Andrea bit her lip. "Uncle Ben…"

"It could have been gone before Charles Carroll told the story to Thomas Gates…" Ben trailed off.

"It doesn't matter," Patrick Gates said firmly.

Andrea raised an eyebrow. "Because you were right all along?"

"No…" Patrick smiled faintly at his granddaughter. "I wasn't right. Ben…Andrea…the room is real. There _was _a treasure. We're in the company of some of the most brilliant minds in history. And I almost missed this experience because I was being too much of an old fart to listen to my family. You two found what those men left behind for us. Both of you…you believed, and never gave up…even when everything seemed impossible…when you stole the Declaration…when Ian took Andrea and me…" Patrick's eyes were misty. "You two did it. For all of us – our whole family. For John Gates…for Thomas Gates…for Abby…" Patrick stopped there. Andrea and Ben glanced down at the floor when Patrick mentioned the daughter, mother, and sister of the three of them. But the silence broke when Patrick laughed nostalgically. "I've never been so happy to be proven wrong!"

Andrea smiled as well. She stepped forward and hugged her grandfather. "Grandpa…admit it. Deep down, you never stopped believing in the treasure."

Grandpa chuckled. "Like I said, I don't mind being proven wrong in this situation."

Andrea gave him a loving squeeze, and kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

But Ben had not joined in on their love fest. He was still staring into space; unaware of what had truly happened to the treasure they were all after. He walked away from his father and niece, and sat himself down upon a trunk in the corner of the room. "I…I just really thought we'd find it…I really did. I spent my whole life searching for it…"

Patrick nodded. "Okay. Then we just keep looking for it."

Andrea nodded. "Come on, Uncle Ben. We're not the crazy, conspiring Gates family without you."

Ben smiled lightly at her joke.

Abigail stepped forward. "I'm in…to keep looking."

Ben was quiet for a few more moments, but then stood, beaming determinedly. "Okay. Let's do this."

A smirk was heard from the corner, and the gang turned their heads to find Riley impatiently standing there. He had been wordless for a while, and it seemed as if he had been forgotten. "Not to be Johnny Rain Cloud here, but as far as I can see, there's no way out of here."

"There has to be another way out," Andrea assured. "There _has _to. The first thing builders would have done after getting down here would be…"

"Cutting a secondary shaft back outside for air." Ben finished. "In case of cave-ins."

He rushed over to the other side of the room, to where another picture was traced into the wall. Several pictures were carved in, but one was merely a metal circle, with certain depth to it. The depth was the same shape as the pipe they had found back in the Artic Circle.

Andrea joined him at the wall. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ben reached into his pocket, and pulled out the pipe. "Does this answer your question?"

Andrea gasped at the pipe. "But…I thought Ian smuggled it from us at the Charlotte."

"He returned it to me before we went inside the church," Ben traced the pipe's outline with his finger, and breathed in disbelief. "Could it really be that simple?"

"Hey, after stealing a national document, sneaking into employee-only territory at Independence Hall, and getting kidnapped, we deserve an easy way out!" Andrea laughed. "Uncle Ben…don't wait any longer. You and I both know what can be behind this wall."

He nodded, and reached out, carefully placing the pipe into the carving. Using the stick part of the pipe, he pressed the stick against a circle within the metal one, and turned the circle clockwise. Ben then pushed the pipe inwards, causing the circle to be pushed into the wall. On the other side of the room, a wall jerked open suddenly, causing everyone to jump slightly. Then, everyone shared a look, one knowing and full of disbelief. Patrick was the first one in this new exit, Riley following. Abigail shot a smile at Ben, and then went in as well. Ben and Andrea were left behind for the moment.

She glanced at her uncle, and said quietly, "It's coming towards the end."

Ben nodded. "Centuries of searching…"

"…And we're a few feet away." Andrea finished.

The two followed their companions breathlessly. Coming to the end of this new passage, Ben and Andrea joined the other three at the top of a dusty stairway. The breath they had remaining flew away. Right in front of their eyes stood nothing but gold. It was the Templar Treasure, the one that the Gates family had spent hundreds of years searching for.

Abigail approached a shelf full of ancient-looking and yellowed scrolls of paper. "Scrolls from the library at Alexandria…" she proclaimed, misty-eyed. "I can't believe it."

Riley was staring dumbfounded at an Egyptian statue. "It's…a big, bluish-green man…with a strange looking goatee…" With that comment, he stroked his own goatee thoughtfully. Andrea joined him at the statue.

"You okay?"

He still stared at the statue. "I'm guessing that goatee's significant." With that, he squealed childishly and stepped forward to give the figurine a hug. Laughing, Andrea smiled at him. Riley then let go of the statue to hug her. Both remained silent as they embraced, taking in the moment.

Ben used his torch to spread light throughout the room. As more fire spread, more treasure was revealed – they were even greater wonders than what the gang had already seen. The five rushed to the stairway railing to absorb all they could with their eyes. Thrillingly, Andrea flung her arms around her uncle. "You did it, Uncle Ben!" She was choking back joyful tears. "For our whole family!"

Ben squeezed her arm back. "…No. We did it…for everyone."

A stifled sob broke their conversation. The uncle and niece turned to find Riley with glazed-over eyes. "Riley…" Andrea raised an eyebrow. "Are you _crying_?"

"Look," he pointed out, a grin breaking his face. "Stairs."

* * *

About an hour later, the five had found their way back up to Trinity Church, giving the caretaker quite a start when they entered through one of the tombstones. Ben had used the caretaker's cell phone to call the FBI, who arrived about fifteen minutes after Ben's call. A short, middle-aged man had entered the church, along with two of his agents. Ben stood alone on the altar, with the Declaration's holder in his hands. Andrea, Riley, Abigail, and Patrick were ushered into a pew by the other agents, while the head agent spoke with Ben for some time.

"I'm not taking it all for myself," Ben's voice rose above the whispers that had been exchanged between him and the FBI agent. "We should divide it amongst all of the well-known history and art museums – the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Cairo museum…" He smiled knowingly. "There's enough history down there for everyone."

The agent smirked. "You don't understand the concept of a bargaining chip."

Ben chuckled. "All right, here's what I really want accomplished. Dr. Chase receives no punishment for getting involved, not even a Post-It note on her service record."

"Done."

"I want the credit for the discovery to go to the entire Gates family – specifically Patrick Gates and Andrea Morrison, for being two of the co-founders," Ben's eyes flicked up to his father and niece before continuing, and daringly, he said, "And for Abigail Gates Morrison to have her name mentioned among the ones that would have been here with us today, if it were not for…other fatal circumstances."

The agent then glanced down silently at his feet. Andrea tilted her head curiously at this. Why had this man's tough, protective armor seem to shed at the mention of her mother?

"And of course, for Mr. Riley Poole to be credited for assisting in the finding," Ben finished.

"And you don't want anything?" The agent queried.

Ben smiled warily. "I'd really love not to go to prison."

Andrea held back a giggle. It was just like Uncle Ben to crack a joke in a serious way.

Ben then told the FBI team about Ian being in Boston, trying to break into the Old North Church. The leader of the team sent out his companions to the airport, for a private and direct flight to Massachusetts. As soon as the two men left, the head agent's eyes shifted over to the row of people sitting in the pew. With no readable expression, he spoke, "My name is Peter Sadusky, FBI agent. As you probably assumed, my unit's director assigned me this case. I'd like to speak to each of you individually before joining my team in Boston." He scanned the faces in front of them, and his eyes rested on one that was more than familiar to him, but yet, the owner of the face was a stranger of soul and name.

Sadusky continued, "Andrea Morrison?" His voice cracked a bit as he said this, but he kept a straight face.

Hesitantly, Andrea rose. Something about this agent was sending an eerie chill down her spine, and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

Sadusky looked away before she could make eye contact, and led her into a room behind the altar, where the priest's vestments were kept. He motioned towards a cushioned chair, seating himself in the other chair. "Sit down."

His eyes were silver, with a hint of light blue in them. They were the kind of eyes that made your heart leap, because of their peculiar luminescent. Andrea's hazel eyes stared his grey ones down for several seconds, before Sadusky opened his mouth to speak.

"Hello, Miss Morrison."

"Hi."

Sadusky leaned back in his chair, placing one leg on top of the other. "You'll be eighteen soon?"

"On the thirty-first. I'm going to NYU in the fall…on a history scholarship." Andrea mentally slapped herself after saying this. Why was she telling Sadusky this?

Sadusky's eyes were twinkling. "I went to grammar school in New York…it was a boarding school."

"Ah…I see…" Andrea wondered if the purpose of this meeting was just for Sadusky to learn of her educational background.

"I met my best friend at that school," Sadusky continued. "She was…just flawless."

Andrea sighed. "Agent Sadusky, I don't mean to be rude, but wasn't the purpose of this was for you to ask me about the treasure?"

Sadusky shook his head. "That's the purpose for your grandfather and friends. You…there's a different purpose for you."

"Oh?"

"Andrea," Sadusky bit his lip, "I knew your mother. She was my best friend. I dated her when I was a teenager. I…I proposed to her awhile after college."

Andrea's breath quickened. She could now see what this was all about. This man had probably loathed her father, for stealing her mother's heart from Sadusky. Did he possibly hate the spawn of the man he possibly disliked – a.k.a Andrea? No…he couldn't…she was also the spawn of the woman he loved…

She shifted in her seat. "Well…what else do you need to confess about your past?"

"Don't say that," Sadusky's eyes glinted. "I'm not trying to say that you could have been someone else, that someone being my biological child. Because if you were someone else…" His voice trailed off, and his eyes grew slightly wet, but he shook that off quickly. "…You probably wouldn't perfectly resemble Abby so much."

"I don't look like her twin. I'm more chubby than she was."

Sadusky sighed nostalgically. "But you have her eyes." Andrea blushed at the mention of eyes – it was as if he read her mind. "And Abby's eyes were what made me love her so much."

A more relative feeling overcame her. She suddenly caught a glimpse of how Sadusky's life had been – going through life in abandonment, finding happiness again when he met Abigail Gates, and then losing her. It was almost exactly how Andrea's life had been. Only after losing her love, she found him again. There was the separation between her and Riley, and it was during that separation that she realized that she needed to find Riley again. Had Sadusky never realized that he needed to come back to Abigail?

Tears were filling up her eyes, and Andrea was in denial over them. Why was she crying? "I – I'm sorry, Agent Sadusky. I don't know why I'm…" The tears began to roll down her cheeks, and Andrea rummaged around in her overalls' pocket for a crimpled tissue.

Sadusky nodded, fighting back tears as well. "It's all right, Andrea. I've said all I need to, and you've replied to my comments without even speaking." He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a crisp, wrinkle-free handkerchief. "Here. Use this."

"Are you sure? It'll get pretty soggy…"

"Keep it."

"Thanks, Sadusky."

He glanced at her quietly. "You can call me Peter." He then rose from his seat. Andrea did the same. He patted her on the shoulder gently. "You're free to go."

"Thank you again." Andrea did her best of wiping her eyes and blowing her nose before stepping out onto the altar. Holding her head high, trying to look as confident as possible, she returned to her seat next to Riley as her grandfather was called in by Sadusky. Ben and Abigail had gone to talk together in the church entrance hall, and their hushed voices could even be heard through the closed doors.

Riley peered at her questionably. "How did it go?"

"Fine," she lied. "He asked me if I've always believed in the treasure, and if the fact of knowing about it ever affected my early childhood." Andrea bit her lip, hoping that he wouldn't notice her red eyes or her refusal to make eye contact with him.

He noticed.

"Your eyes are red!" His own eyes bulged out surprisingly. "What was he doing to you?"

She sighed heavily and rested her hand on top of his. "He…he told me about his past. He was a really good friend of my mom's…he even proposed to her." She glanced sideways at Riley before continuing. "He was like us in a way – abandonment, and finding love unexpectedly."

"It was _never _unexpected for us," He claimed, tugging playfully at one of her braids. "Even you knew that it would come eventually."

Andrea shook her head tiredly. "Let's just stop talking about love, okay? We should just take in the moment – we found the treasure, and Ian is going to jail. We just got together a few hours ago, Riley. Let's not act like we've been together for five years." She laid her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes. After her talk with Sadusky, all she wanted to do was sleep. "We have all of the time in the world to talk about that kind of stuff…" She felt her voice drift off and her eyelids grow heavy.

Just as she went into unconsciousness, he whispered in her ear, "Why wait?"

She giggled quietly, and felt her muscles relax as he wrapped his arms around her.

How could Sadusky have forgotten how wonderful love could be?

It's a thing of past…he couldn't reserve it.

_Everything in my life would be perfect now if he was happy… _Andrea thought. _He's not my father…but he could have been. Although, he seems fine the way he is…_

Andrea shook off that thought. Sadusky was decently happy, especially now that the treasure was found and he didn't need to arrest his could-have-been brother-in-law. Life was perfect at the moment, nothing could go wrong…

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**This is the last official chapter. The next one will be an epilogue, and then I'll be hitting the complete button for this story. A sequel will be published sometime this summer, hopefully. Thanks to Prophetic Illusion for sending me the link to a NT: Book of Secrets script. Check out her latest story taken place during BoS! **

**If you haven't already, feel free to vote in the poll on my profile page - it asks about what kind of romances to include in the sequel to this.**

**So...I'll be updating with the epilogue probably this weekend, since I only have to type that section up on the computer and upload it. I'd love it if you leave a review with what you liked about this story, and ideas you have for the sequel. Thank you!**


	15. Epilogue: In a Woman's Eyes

**Well...here it is, the conclusion to this story! Thanks to hollyclaw - who beta-read several chapters - everyone who reviewed, and everyone who favorited and alerted the story! I'm extremely happy about the feedback this story recieved! Thanks again so much!**

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Epilogue: In a Woman's Eyes

Ben scanned the parking lot with his video camera once more, and then swerved on his heel to face Andrea and Abigail. "Well, here we are," he commentated, beaming boldly like the proud 'parent' he was. "August 28th, 2004 – Andrea Emily Morrison is about to board the bus to NYU. So, Andrea, how do you feel?" He zoomed in on his niece's face.

Andrea, shivering in a jean jacket and shorts, grinned impatiently. "I'd be a lot better if you stopped filming for the first time since 6:30 this morning."

Ben and Abigail laughed. Abigail shot a playful look at Ben. "You know, you have been going a little overboard with the filming. Andrea told me that you started filming when she came to breakfast."

"In my Loony Tunes pajamas, with my hair looking like a rat's nest," Andrea added. "Trust me, Uncle Ben, that won't make good film footage."

"You can't blame me for being excited," Ben retorted. "It's not every day that the girl you raised goes away to college…" He lowered the camera and looked upon the women with a mocking, puppy-dog face. "…In New York…where dreams are crushed every hour…by soulless producers and publishers…"

"Ben!" Both girls screeched his name, and he stopped.

Andrea laughed. "Uncle Ben, you'll see me next month anyway when I take some time off to go to Cairo with you and Grandpa and Abigail and Riley."

Ben nodded. "That's true."

Andrea gazed around the parking lot curiously. "Speaking of Riley, where is he? He told me last night on the phone that he'd be here."

Ben shrugged. "He might be having car troubles."

Abigail nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he'll call you if he can't make it. You can always talk to him once you get to the university."

Ben beamed at her. "That sounded exactly like something a mother would say."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Abigail questioned.

Andrea snorted. "It means that if you're not too careful, you can end up with little James Madison Gates."

Using his share of the treasure's values, Ben had purchased a 25-acre home in the rural outskirts of Washington D.C. Abigail had moved in with him, causing Andrea to become the rightful owner of the apartment she and Ben had lived in together. She now had a place to go whenever she came back to D.C for a visit.

The fading, worn-down coach bus that would take the students into New York creeped into the parking lot. It was now time for final good-byes. Convinced that Riley wasn't going to appear at the last minute, Andrea hurriedly gave Ben and Abigail farewell hugs, both of them wishing her good luck upon arrival at school. Taking one deep, cleansing breath, she scooped up her luggage and dragged it onto the bus with her.

Andrea picked out a seat behind the bus driver and tossed her heaviest bags up on the above luggage rack, plopping her backpack down onto the seat next to her. Cautiously sitting down, she peered out the window aimlessly as the bus began to drive out of the lot. This was finally it. She was really going off to college. College in New York…at NYU…was she really that intelligent to be accepted into that school?

She found her fingers clutching the pendant tied around her tanned neck. Smiling as she looked down upon the rose-shaped necklace, Andrea remembered who had given it to her – Riley. According to him, it was a late birthday present / good-luck-at-college token. On the back of the pendant, it read, _'To my rose named Andrea – Love, Riley'. _Andrea loved it the moment she laid eyes on it.

The bus was practically a block away from the parking lot when her cell phone vibrated. Andrea yanked the phone out of her pocket to discover that had an incoming text message. She beamed when she read the words: _Stop the bus. _

Shoving the phone back in her pocket, Andrea leaned forward to tap the driver on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but can we please go back to the parking lot for a minute? I need to say good-bye to a friend of mine."

The driver scowled at her. "I've got a schedule to follow, missy. There was a time for good-byes."

"I know, I know. But I promise it won't take long! Please?" She folded her hands together in an exaggerating, childish way.

The driver sighed and yanked the vehicle's doors open. "Make it snappy."

As Andrea rose from her seat, several students in the back of the bus booed. Eek, not the best way to make new friends. But this was important – she had to see him before she left.

Running as quickly as she could from the bus to the parking lot – which wasn't easy to do in skimpy flip-flops – Andrea reached the lot breathless. It was half-empty. Most of the parents who had dropped off their children had already left, including Uncle Ben and Abigail. She immediately spotted him at the far end of the lot, leaning against a tree while waiting for her. Grinning widely, she rushed to up to him and gave him a big bear hug. "Hey."

Riley kissed her on the forehead. "Hi. Sorry I'm late. Big traffic jam."

"I forgive you," she rested her head on his chest. "You know, I can't stay long. I've got a busload of angry people waiting for me to come back…"

"But you just got here," Riley complained. "I won't see you until we leave for Cairo."

Andrea smiled sneakily. "'Absence makes the heart fonder.'"

"Not in my eyes!"

"Hey," Andrea squeezed his hand. "A man's eyes can see much differently than a woman's eyes."

"Your point?" Riley was laughing at her comment.

"Think about it, Riley," Andrea exclaimed. "I'm about to venture out on one of the greatest experiences of my life! A woman, like myself, would overanalyze the moment. But a man, like you, would only go, 'Hardy har har, college is a place to meet girls'!"

"I still don't get it."

Andrea smiled faintly and shook her head. Some things would never change – and Riley's blankness was one of those.

"Look…to wrap it all up…let's just say that in a woman's eyes, a moment or adventure really gets taken in."

Riley shrugged. "All right then. Whatever you say." He smiled and kissed her on the lips. "Then I guess that "in a woman's eyes", now would be the time to say good-bye?"

"Yeah."

The two exchanged final farewells and Andrea hurried back to the coach bus before its passengers would start throwing things at her. As she fell back into her seat, she thought about all she had said to Riley. It was true…she knew that from watching men like Ben and Grandpa that they rushed things and missed important details. Women like herself never did this. All they had to do was slow down…listen…watch…and tell it all from a woman's eyes, even though they were males. And that was Andrea's goal for NYU – to see it all in a woman's eyes.

-THE END-

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**Okay. I personally thought the ending was very cheesy, but I'm applauding myself for working the title into the story at last. (Claps self on back) The sequel, I'm guessing, will be out sometime next month - I want to complete the first few chapters before publishing the story. **

**Leave a review on what you thought, especially if you never reviewed this story before! **

**And now...off to hit that complete button!**


	16. Author's Note

**Hey guys! This isn't a last-minute update for this, but I just wanted to inform you, in case you didn't know, that the sequel to this, _In an Older Woman's Eyes_, has been posted and is already on its third chapter! Please check it out if you have the time! Thank you all again for the numerous reviews on this story!**


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